Time Lapse: Two Tales
by violetmarbles
Summary: The universe works in strange and mysterious ways. Fallout 4 / Final Fantasy XV
1. Prologue

If I knew one thing about The American Dream, it was that society knew how to sell it. The problem is, they never seem to disclose all of the fine print that comes with the bill of sale.

I grew up in Boston as an only child of two workaholic parents, and was raised by a neighbor who babysat me up until I was old enough to come home after school alone, or use the stove without immediately killing myself. Because of this I became very independent in many aspects. It had also made me a very quiet person, for the first few years of my life; I didn't keep friends well, or for long.

By the time my teenage years fell into my lap (or my chest, could someone please explain why some women just wake up one day with boobs? Definitely was not prepared for that surprise of the human body) I had developed a rather crass, inappropriate sense of humor. I became recognized for this, often expected to bridge the gaps in some circumstances with my snide and smart-ass remarks. I also gained some charisma points and started making friends, coming out of my shell, even went to house parties once a week the summer I was nineteen years of age.

One of said parties is where I met Nate, and I fell head over heels for him.

Or rather I fell ass over teakettle, as I slipped square in front of him on-what was it, a spilled drink?-and broke my nose. But he was a complete gentleman, helped me up and drove me to the ER right away. I remember thanking him profusely and apologizing over and over for bleeding on him/his car/in general.

After that night we were joined at the hip. Well not literally, but my parents loved to make that comment. It was no surprise then when just shy of my twentieth birthday, he offered me the opportunity to take his last name. I mean, when you say it like that it sounds over-fluffed and straight out of a James Stewart movie, but how better to explain it? When you find that one person who makes colors more vivid, laughter second-nature and butterflies take up permanent residence in your gut, even the stoniest of hearts erode if not just a bit.

And I think that's just what it is; people long for it, that lifestyle. The lot in the 'burbs, the manicured lawn, the bright yellow clapboard house and of course, the 9 to 5 breadwinner husband and two kids, a boy and a girl, and apple pie steaming from the windowsill, et cetera, et cetera.

Getting hitched and buying a new house fresh off the bus at the first stop in adulthood of course sounded ridiculous to my family, especially when a war was looming over our heads, akin to fog rolling in from the lake, slowly but surely. Then like the punchline to a sick joke, not three days after coming home from our honeymoon the phone rang. Nate was on a plane to Anchorage the same day, and I was left with an empty home, a brand-new Mr. Handy and a refrigerator that couldn't keep the milk cold.

Right after he enlisted in 2074, Nate was gone for eleven months. He then returned home for a short stay, but three months later he was gone again, this time for six. This constant back and forth went on for two and a half years. Those were some of the most difficult years of my life, and although I was already very independent I had many learning curves; you're never really prepared for that first water pipe bursting at two in the morning.

I did keep myself busy mentally as well, and took up night courses at the community college in the business district. With that I was able to successfully secure a paralegal certificate and made plans to continue my education to become a lawyer. It wasn't much, but for the time being it helped land my simple ass in a paper-pushing desk job at a stuffy office near the Commons, only ten short minutes from home in Sanctuary Hills.

In November of 2076, my husband was discharged with full honors and came home to stay. It was like learning to fall in love all over again, but he wasn't the same Nate that drove me to the ER the night I broke my nose. Something in his eyes had changed; while they still sparkled at every flick of his vision, they no longer seemed like calm ocean views, but echoed dark, bottomless drowning abysses, the deep end of the pool where no one swims because you never have the safety and security of your toes touching the bottom while your head stays above the surface. Some nights, he would wake with a startle, get out of bed and not return for the remainder of the night.

The topic of children was not prevalent for us. We tossed the idea around here and there, but we both decided it would happen when it happened, though mutually agreeing without having to actually say the words, 'but not right now'. Well, it happened literally at the period of that last sentence. Perhaps it was the mouth-gasm inducing rosemary chicken dinner and two glasses (HAH don't kid yourself Heather, you had four) of Sauvignon Blanc we indulged in on a date night. Perhaps the way Nate held my hand as we walked home from Concord, the stars dancing in his own indigo galaxy eyes, smiling so wide his lips looked like they would split. Whatever it was, approximately four weeks later my toast and eggs ended up at the bottom of a wastebasket in the office break room, and I had eaten breakfast at home.

"Uh-oh," I groaned, wiping the corners of my mouth and in a gesture as old as time, looked down and clutched my abdomen and trying to feel for anything different or any telltale signs of a fetus. Of course nothing had changed, if anything I felt more self conscious grabbing my slight chub, but it was an automatic reaction. My cubicle mate noticed what I was doing behind her coffee cup and she smirked at me. "Either you had a lot of fun last night or a lot of fun a few weeks ago and now you're suffering the consequences."

I pursed my lips. "The latter, also you are the worst."

She smiled widely at me, coming to wrap me in a congratulatory hug, the scent of either her perfume or hairspray or even both further stretching my most-likely-and-now-certainly-baby-induced nausea but I fought to keep the rest of my stomach contents in.

Pregnancy was as fun as any woman would make it out to be, though it never ceased to amaze me how much of a conversation piece ballooning right where your uterus is located was. Random strangers would come up to me at the Super Duper Mart, offering their wishes of health for the baby asking if it was a boy or girl, or if there were more than one in there, because wow you are only 6 months along? And are you certain you're having only one? You're twenty-six and having a child? If you want a second you better get a move on, honey!

My sense of humour helped me through to full-term immensely, and was rewarded when seeing the looks on our family's faces when I excitedly exclaimed at our annual Redden-Maxwell barbeque, "WE HAD AN ACCIDENT AND WE'RE KEEPING IT!" Thankfully Nate had choked back a chuckle at my dark humour. God, he really did help me get through it all. Every hormone-fuelled crying fit, every late-night run to Red Rocket to get a pack of bubblegum and some Fancy Lad snack cakes from the vending machine, the craving of choice for this bun in the oven. On several occasion he demanded I put my feet up when I came home from work while he prepared dinner for the two of us.

Throughout it all, he was there, even holding my hand tightly as we welcomed Shaun into the world.

* * *

 _Elsewhere, in a different galaxy several millennia and measures of time away..._

Within the royal chambers of the citadel, in the heart of the capital city of Lucis, four young men clad in black royal garb stood before King Regis Lucis Caelum as he gave his address. "The decreed hour is come," he spoke, his voice echoing through the gilded halls of the royal chambers.

He nodded at the young raven-haired man before him. "Set forth with my blessing, Prince Noctis."

Noctis bowed. "Thank you, Your Majesty."

King Regis breathed in deeply. "Take your lead, and go in the grace of the Gods."


	2. Thank You for Choosing Vault Tec

"Honey, are you almost done in there?"

I sighed, mostly to myself than in reaction to Nate's question. I was over scrutinizing my already-tidy eyebrows, plucking a white hair from them and cringing. Twenty-six and greys already? Seriously, who did I piss off in my past life?

I responded over my shoulder, "Yes, sorry! Out in a jiffy!"

I put the small makeup bag away behind the medicine cabinet's mirror and looked over my face. I never bothered with a full face of makeup, and even more so now with a newborn infant in my care. I still liked to apply mascara and conceal my slight dark circles, a gift of genetics and, again, newborn in the house.

I didn't look half-bad, to give myself credit. I quickly wrapped my shoulder-length brown hair in a bun and swung around to open the bathroom door. Nate was casually leaning against the door frame, effortlessly handsome, smiling his kind smile as he leaned in to peck me on the forehead before slipping into the bathroom and removing his shirt. "Shower time. Oh, I believe Codsworth just finished brewing some coffee for you."

That was all it took stop giving my husband the googly-eyes, nearly whipping the door closed behind me as I dashed into the kitchen, where our Mr. Handy robot Codsworth was working away at multiple things at once; one of his telescopic arms plucked toast at the precise time as another whisked at some eggs in a bowl, all the while managing to sweep the floor at the same time. Show off. I imagined he would also be filing our taxes had they been due. He simultaneously swiveled his head around to greet me in his jaunty English-accent. "Morning, Mum! Ready your cuppa, I have a fresh brew in the pot with your name on it!"

I grabbed a mug and Codsworth poured me a cup of my favorite addiction, though in the decaf variety. I still hadn't switched back to the caffeinated version, call it early motherhood paranoia if you will. I inhaled the unmistakable aroma deeply, taking a light sip as it was piping hot.

Just then from the baby room, Shaun made a small gargily, baby-esque sound. Codsworth's telescopic eyes focused and unfocused audibly. "Mum, shall I tend to Shaun for you?"

"No need Codsworth, duty calls." I snickered, setting the coffee down on the dinner table as I headed for his room. From behind me, I heard Codsworth mumble in a strained voice something about being inappropriate. I peeked in and leaned over the side of his crib. The tiny bundle of pudge and pink skin was cooing softly, giggling as he tried to grab at his feet. My heart swelled a bit, wondering who he would look like once he stopped looking like a generic baby. Would his eyes shift to match the green ones I have, or darken indigo like Nate's? Would his hair go black to match his father's, or will he keep my lackluster brown hair?

However he looked, I was excited to watch him grow up, to learn and experience life, to make mistakes and accomplish goals... No wonder people had large families, this shit was exciting. I hope Nate is open to the idea of another addition to the family.

The doorbell ringing snapped me out of my ooey-gooey daydreaming. I checked that Shaun was comfortable and then walked back into the hallway, slid his bedroom door shut, and headed to answer the front door.

Upon sighting the tell-tale short Homburg hat through the over-sized peephole, I pursed my lips. It was the Vault Tec rep that stopped by the week before, and the week before that...and the week before that. The man did not excel in taking hints. Mentally I questioned who I'd have to call to get him to stay away; door-to-door vacuum salesmen had a better pitch than this guy.

Even still, I knew he already saw me through the small window, so I opened the door to greet him. Instantly the salesman charisma chimed up. "Good day, Miss!" He gleamed through Chiclet teeth. "Vault Tec calling!"

"Yes, hi there," I exhaled, trying to keep a polite manner. "Listen, I-"

He was quick to cut me off. "Please, Miss! I cannot stress the importance of planning for the future. My apologies but we are on the verge of atomic uncertainty and I know you would do anything to protect your family and loved ones."

That last line was definitely his hook, line and sinker, but somehow it worked on me. Perhaps I had to blame it on the starry-eyed pondering of my family's future from seconds before. I also had to hand it to him, the dude had returned multiple times even after not landing the sale. His annoyance was dissolving to perseverance. I sighed. "Okay, pitch it to me again."

He cleared his throat. "T-Thank you, Miss. As I was saying, Vault Tec's mission is to provide a means for American families like your own with a safe place to live, should the earth succumb to destruction or the fall of mankind." He habitually tapped a pen on his clipboard. "Now, I know it may sound grim to have to imagine our great and gracious nation as no more, but registering your family for a spot in our local Vault 111 will provide peace of mind should the need ever befall us."

I frowned, biting my thumbnail. "Exactly how certain are you of this 'fall of mankind?''', I asked, skepticism heavy in my voice. This was the talk of movies and poorly-written doomsday articles.

"Almost guaranteed that it will inevitably occur," The salesman assured, though his eyes were not honest. This was scripted, no doubt. He handed me the clipboard. "If you could please fill this out with your details and family information, I'll make sure this gets to headquarters for processing immediately."

I leaned against the landing and filled in the particulars, date of birth, surname, the same for Nate and Shaun as well. When I was finished, I signed and sealed the deal and handed the board back to the salesman, who provided his own autograph before tearing off a carbon-copy for me to keep.

With a nod and tip of his tawny hat, he bid farewell (very hastily, might I add) "T-Thanks again, Miss. You have made the right choice, I promise you will not regret it! Have a great d-"

I closed the door on him, my stomach churning. What exactly was I getting us into? Well, in the whole scheme of things a vault apparently, but did I make a mistake? I should have asked for his credentials. I mean he had the Vault Tec van and all, but I couldn't help but wonder if he was legit or some tutti-fruity swindler-

"He stopped by again?" Nate questioned, vigorously drying his hair with a towel. "I thought you told him to go away."

"I did, every other time," I replied, folding the carbon-copy before putting it in my pocket. I would file it later; gotta upkeep my World's Best Procrastinator title. "this time? I don't know. I decided to hear him out. Plus if I can keep my little family safe, I'm on board."

Nate sat on the sofa, patting the seat beside him. I sat down next to him, my hand on his knee. The smell of his man soap perfumed the air around him. He tucked a wayward strand of hair that escaped my messy bun behind my ear and then rubbed my back, comfortingly. "It does give us peace of mind. Thank you, Hon."

Not two seconds had passed before I heard Shaun's shrill cry. I stood, but not before Codsworth was a millisecond ahead of me down the hall. "Miss Heather, I do believe Shaun requires some of that motherly care that my programming is lacking."

I entered the baby room and leaned over Shaun's crib. His face was red as tears dotted his cheeks, his tiny arms reaching upwards. _He must be hungry,_ I thought. _Better heat up a bottle soon._

Nate joined me at Shaun's crib, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and giving them an affectionate squeeze. "I fixed his mobile," He noted, nodding at the space-themed plastic mobile that hung above the crib. "Give it a spin, he loves it."

I gently nudged the rings of the toy and it started to spin slowly, a calming tune playing baby-friendly melodies. Shaun's crying seemed to lessen, as he looked up bewildered at the mobile like he was a tiny little man who just found a wad of cash. Nate grinned, a proud father. "After lunch, let's go to the park for a picnic. It's still warm, you wouldn't even guess it's almost November out there."

He was right. October 23rd and I still hadn't unpacked our winter clothing. I wasn't upset about that. "That sounds like fun."

From the living room, Codsworth piped up with a tone of uncertainty. "Err Mister Nate? Miss Heather? Y-You may want to see this!"

"Codsworth?" Nate called, before turning to leave the room. I followed, wondering what was up. I've never heard our Mr. Handy model speak with such gravity to his voice.

The same tone was present with the news anchor on the television screen. Through the grainy, monochrome display I could tell his expression was a mix of anguish and trying to keep calm for the camera. "...Yes, I can confirm that's...two detonations, two atomic detonations in the Eastern United States, New York has been confirmed, Pennsylvania confirmed..."

The reporter's voice trailed off, his valiant effort to keep his composure failing before our eyes. He gasped, his head cradled in his hand. "My God."

The broadcast cut abruptly, replaced with the 'Please Stand By' screen.


	3. Forcing a Hard Reset

My husband, robot housekeeper and I stood/hovered in silence, trying to process exactly what the hell just happened. My brain failed to quickly snap out of the moment and react though, as before I knew it Nate was running to grab Shaun, who had started crying again. My knees were locked in place and my ears were ringing, the information lagging at the rate of an old computer, struggling to process a gigabyte of information all at once, and I was stuck on a loading screen.

A firm nudge from Codsworth snapped me out of the trance. "Mum, please go with Mister Nate! You must be safe! I'll keep the home front secured, you must go!"

Nate grabbed my arm, his eyes wide with shock. "Hon, we gotta go _**NOW!**_ "

Adrenaline catapulted through my veins as my husband, carrying our infant son, threw open the front door to find our neighbors littering the street in a frenzy of chaos and confusion. Overhead, vertibirds darted across the sky, while up ahead an army truck was pulling up to park as dozens of soldiers clambered out of the back hatch.

What were we supposed to do, drive out of here? Our best bet would be to take the car and go south, or perhaps we-

The ear-assaulting sound of a voice on a loudspeaker bellowed just then, as if to answer my internal question. "RESIDENTS OF SANCTUARY HILLS, IF YOU ARE REGISTERED PLEASE EVACUATE TO VAULT 111 IMMEDIATELY."

"Heather, do you think we could get in or is it too late for us?" Nate asked, panic in his tone.

I frowned. "I'm not sure, but we need to try!"

He nodded, grabbing my hand and pulling Shaun closer to his chest as we sprinted our way down the wooded trail path towards the vault. All around us our neighbors frantically scrambled, some getting into their cars while others pleaded with their spouses to not leave their home, or that they needed to take their golf bag or asking if the cat will be okay. As we reached the foot bridge to cross the stream, one couple even argued over a suitcase of clothing. We raced as fast as our legs could propel us to the metal fence bordering the perimeter of Vault 111, the entrance now crowded by a small horde of families pleading to be admitted, only to be pushed back by soldiers. The sight was tragic.

Even more so was it to find the Vault Tec salesman himself, who was disputing with an officer why he should get in. "What do you mean I can't get in?! I _AM_ Vault Tec!"

The officer callously shoved the salesman back and asked us to move forward. As we passed him the man glared daggers at me before he took off down the same path we took. My heart was hammering in my ears as a man with a clipboard eyed me for information. "You have to let us in!" I grieved, remembering the carbon-copy in my pocket. I pulled it out, unfolding it between shaky fingers and handed it to the officer. "We're on the list."

The soldier cycled through his details, nodding after what seemed like an inconvenient eternity. "Infant...adult female...adult male...Good, come this way."

Relief was short lived as we darted from the crowd, their frantic cries being drowned out by the thundering whippets of virtibird propeller blades as we followed a soldier up the steep hill to a behemoth blue and yellow metal hatch. A handful of our neighbors stood in the center of the platform, visibly shaken and trying to process the current events.

Nate stood by my side on the platform, panting and trying to catch his breath as I was, doing his absolute best to comfort Shaun given the circumstances. "We made it, honey!" He breathed.

I nodded. "Yeah, yeah we did."

"I love you, Heather."

I love you too, Nate."

Then, the world ended. Straight ahead, several all too short miles from where I stood, an enormous ball of energy and blinding light exploded on the horizon. It swallowed the light from the sun and unfolded into a deathly hot and fiery mushroom cloud, rapidly expanding in size and volume. My eyes watered from the searing blaze as trees bent at painful angles and the shock wave rolled toward us.

"SEND IT DOWN, NOW!" Demanded a soldier, and the platform jolted to life as it began to lower beneath the surface of the earth. It felt entirely too slow to beat the shock wave and impending blow from pure, unrestricted energy barreling towards us. I held my breath as I braced for the worst. Luckily for us the elevator platform had descended enough for the walls of the shaft to provide shelter against the impact, but even with the protection of being underground all of us still felt the buckle in our knees, as the sonic boom slammed into everything-and everyone-above.

Thankfully the top hatch closed right after, forcing the people around us to stand in awkward, grave silence. I could hear my heartbeat thundering in my ears. Knotting my fingers together nervously, I wondered what it was like above ground right now, and then immediately decided that was the worst idea anyone had ever imagined.

Once the elevator reached the bottom, a wide metal fence lifted to allow access to the entrance to the vault. Two officers, one with a name tag labelled 'Overseer', greeted us with instructions. "Please, remain calm, follow the stairs up to processing." The Overseer said, almost monotonously. It was obvious that he was reading directly from his notebook in front of him. "No need to worry, folks! Welcome to your new home, Vault 111! A better future, underground!"

I held Nate's hand, relieved to hear Shaun was quieting down, his tiny eyes darting around the unfamiliar environment.

My mind was a blank slate and my body on autopilot for the next few minutes, stuck on trying to adjust to the hysteria from literally moments before. I had walked absently through processing, taken a vault suit from one of the assistants, and followed the vault doctor down the first hallway and into a room full of metal pods, hooked up to god knows what. Warning labels were slapped onto everything, as if they set a child free in here with a sugar high and a book of stickers and told him to go crazy. As we reached the last set of pods in the room, the doctor turned and instructed us to put on our vault suits. "When you're ready, just step into this decontamination and decompression pod. It will be necessary before we head further into the vault," he assured.

Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't dare think of undressing down to my skivvies in front of strangers, let alone my neighbors, but this was the mother-load of completely not normal circumstances, so I did as we were told and removed my shirt and circle skirt, before zipping into the skin-tight (curse you, love handles) royal blue and yellow-piped vault suit. I know I looked ridiculous, but at least I wasn't alone. I held Shaun as Nate changed into his, listening to his quiet baby language of gargles and cooing.

When he was done Nate took Shaun once more. "See? we're safe, little guy. Everything's going to be just fine." He smiled to me, hope visible in his gaze. "This is our new home."

I nodded, brushing my son's feather-light hair soothingly. "Daddy's right. We're safe here."

The doctor politely interrupted our little moment and showed us to our pods, telling us to breathe deeply when the lid closed and to relax. Nate cradled Shaun in his pod, directly across from mine, and gave me a quick wave as they closed the pod door. Mine was closed right after, and almost instantly I felt a chill in the air.

I started to breathe deeply, as the doctor instructed. Lethargy set in within seconds, and the chill grew to be almost uncomfortably cold.

As my vision began to fade, teetering on the lip of consciousness, I heard an automated voice begin to countdown from five.

"Five, Four...Three...Two..."

I struggled to look at my husband and son, through the crushing tide of sleep that flooded my body.

Frost began to paint the window inside the pod.

"...One."

* * *

I dreamt of nothing and yet everything at once, without consciously knowing it. As I slumbered within that great white expanse, that void, nothing existed and I felt like my body was separated from my brain, like the weight of my mortal shell stressed too hard on the fibers of my mind and snapped like over-tuned piano wire. The air was thin and smelled of rubbing alcohol and was cold, always so cold. I made several attempts to open my eyes, though it felt as if they had fused shut and would never open again. Sometimes I tried to fight it, but most of the time I surrendered to the void; it was easier and my energy was nonexistent.

Unexpectedly, my vision began to spot and color until I could make out a shape, the shape of the pod window in fact, and as my brain decided to slowly re-attach to my skull cavity the shapes became clearer. It was dark on the other side, but I could just barely detect Nate inside the pod in front of me. He was still asleep. I guessed that I woke up too soon and the decontamination process was not complete.

Then an error alarm started droning in the distance and I heard voices, a male and female, though I could not see them in this position. I tried to lift my arm but it weighed precisely the same as a truck. An automated voice spoke, "Manual override initiated. Cryogenic stasis suspended."

 _What? Cryogenic..what the hell?_ I thought, confused.

Outside, a person in a hazmat suit appeared, pointing directly at Nate's pod. "This is the one, here," they said, examining the control panel. Joining her in my field of vision was a man, bald and wearing strange leather clothing that looked more like armor than functional fashion pieces. I didn't get a good look at his face, but from what I did catch he did not look like a nice person.

"Open it," his gravelly voice ordered.

The person in the hazmat suit threw a switch on the panel, and the lid lifted from Nate's pod. My heart defrosted and started to remember how to pump blood through my veins. I lifted a hand, with newfound strength to the pod window, trying to clear some of the frost buildup (how long does this process take, exactly?) and watched as Nate reanimated once more, coughing and clutching Shaun in his arms.

This seemed off. Where was the doctor? Why weren't these people wearing vault suits? Are they-

Shaun's cry exploded abruptly, my heartbeat quickening. I hope he was alright.

Nate was coughing still, trying to catch his breath. "I-Is it...over? Are we okay?" He asked the two strangers outside the pod.

"Almost," The bald man replied, an eerie tone in his voice. "Everything is going to be fine."

The person in the hazmat suit was reaching out, to help Nate with handling Shaun. Only...something felt off about their posture. The urgency with which they were trying to handle my baby, it felt wrong...

"Come here...Come here, baby..." The hazmat figure coaxed to Shaun, trying to soothe his sobbing.

Nate struggled against the stranger. "No, wait! I've got him!"

It clicked then; these people were trying to steal our son.

I pounded weakly on the pod door, trying to get their attention, but I was either too weak or they chose to ignore me. Fire erupted in my stomach and shot up to my ears as they tried to pry my infant son from my husband's arms. I kept pounding on the door, my strength almost back to normal, but still not fully conscious. I had to thaw out so I could get out of here and help.

The bald man raised a gun and pointed it at Nate, and every organ in my chest threatened to jump out of my throat. "Let the boy go. I'm only going to tell you once." His voice was abrasive and as cold as the pod that I was trapped in.

Nate cried, "I'm not giving you Shaun!"

Not a second later, a gunshot shattered my eardrums. My heart was second to follow, as Nate fell backwards into the seat of the pod, completely limp.

The love of my life, my person...Gone.

I couldn't think as my brain switched off, forcing a hard reset as I watched my future fade before my eyes. A weight left my body and pain raked at the cavity that remained. I tried to scream out, to make my agony audible, but I couldn't part my lips. I pounded on the pod window, trying to get them to look at me.

"Goddammit!" The bald man growled. "Get the kid out of here, we have to leave."

With my son in hand, the hazmat suit flipped the switch to Nate's pod and the door closed once more, his lifeless body sprawled at an uncomfortable angle against the seat.

It must have worked, because the bald man who murdered my husband turned to look me in the eye from outside the pod. "At least we have the backup..." He said, a disgusting smirk on his scarred face.

I pounded on the glass harder, my hands searching for a handle or latch or _FUCK! SOMETHING to get me out of here. They have my son and they're leaving, I have to get out, I have to push this door open!_

I buckled against the door of the pod and shoved back and forth with all the strength I could possibly muster. I knew someplace in the confines of my hopeless mind, there was no way I would get the door open. But still, for the sake of my shattered heart, I had to try.

Come on, Heather, push! I thought, trying to find super-human strength capable of opening the door.

Push!

 _Push!_

 _PUSH!_

* * *

"PUUUUSH!"

As the afternoon sun beat down on the Eastern region of Leide, four young men in black struggled to inch their car forward, having stalled and not permitting to run again without being serviced. Three of them protested as they pushed the car from the outside, while the fourth party member sat in the front seat, sipping Ebony coffee from a can and steering the car in neutral.

He sighed, habitually pushing up his glasses. This was going to be a long journey.


	4. Unfamiliar Territory

"Un. Believable."

Prince Noctis sighed, exasperated. They had pushed the Regalia, the King's royal vehicle on loaner for the trip, for at least the past hour. Given that the sun was beginning to drop steadily closer to the horizon, and the air was (thankfully) beginning to cool, they had to have made some decent progress. Yet the Hammerhead outpost (or at least some form of civilization, if not that) was still a distant spec up ahead.

Gladiolus scoffed. "Not exactly the fairy-tale beginning, huh?" his voice strained, muscles flexing as he pushed against the trunk.

"We let ourselves get carried away." Ignis piped up from the driver's seat. He ran a gloved hand through his mousy-brown hair and checked the rear-view mirror for approaching traffic, but all he could see was the top of Gladiolus's black shag and a very barren road. He continued to steer the wheel so the car would go straight.

Prompto's shock of blonde hair shook from outside the passenger's side door. "Look, these things happen!" he grumbled in protest.

"Maybe this is some kind of omen," Gladiolus remarked sarcastically from behind the car.

"Hey, Gladio," Noctis chimed in. "You wanna do me a favor?"

"What's up, Noct?"

"Push this thing by yourself."

"Hah, all by myself?"

"You wont even notice if we just let go," Prompto added

Gladio shot imaginary daggers at the back of Prompto's head in response. "Prompto, don't even think about it."

Ignis sighed at the friendly banter, knowing it was doing nothing to help their situation. He checked the rear-view again; nothing. "Save some breath for pushing."

"Iggy, c'mon it's time to switch," Groaned Noctis, silently cursing the combination of a black car and afternoon sun.

"Nuh-uh!" Gladio's breath was starting to strain. "We just switched back there!"

"And it's _my_ turn, Noct," Prompto added.

Ignis sighed to himself, slightly annoyed with the childishness in their conversation. Though he was Noctis's senior by only a couple of years, he felt like a caretaker to elementary school kids at times with their constant nitpicking and teasing. He sipped his canned coffee and adjusted his leather driving gloves. "Your "turn"?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow to Prompto.

He rolled his eyes at Ignis in response and kept pushing the car, though his muscles screamed for him to stop. Why couldn't they break down a bit closer to the mechanic? In actuality it probably wasn't that far away at all, perhaps a few minutes in motor-vehicle speed, however three-men-pushing-a-gargantuous-black-convertible-in-neutral speed? They would be lucky to make it before the sunset, just in time for the daemons to come out...

Noctis leaned in slightly to speak to Ignis. "Hey, Ignis. Have you tried to start it up again?" He asked, nodding to the ignition switch.

Ignis shook his head. "Why bother causing unnecessary stress to the engine? The vehicle is dead and needs to be serviced. The Hammerhead outpost is not far, if we keep going we should make it in time -"

"Oh just give it another go, Iggy," Gladio insisted, sweat beading across his forehead and down his tattooed biceps. "Couldn't hurt either way."

Not wanting to argue any further, Ignis turned the key in the ignition. Sure enough, nothing happened.

But then, a weak and very unhealthy chug-chug-chug of the engine stuttered, giving way to promise as the vehicle shuddered and the engine engaged completely, the dashboard lighting up again as the care came back to life.

Prompto grinned wildly. "Hoooorah!" He cheered, clapping as he hopped into the front passenger's seat, Noctis and Gladio following suit as they jumped into the back.

Ignis turned back to Noctis from the front seat. "Looks like we're back in business, Noct," he declared. "Though I would suggest we stop at the service station regardless. We could have caused some wear on the engine, and we'll also need to refuel and stock up on curatives."

"Yeah yeah, sure thing," Noctis dismissed, just happy to have the car running again. He checked the time on his phone then leaned back and closed his eyes as the Regalia began to accelerate faster. His breathing slowed from pushing the vehicle and he took a moment to enjoy the warm sun against his eyelids. He thought about Luna, his childhood friend and now fiancee, 'chosen by the stars' as it was told. He couldn't wait to see her again. It had been many years since the Empire invaded Tenebrae and they were separated, but they had kept in touch through writing back and forth. Luna's dog, Umbra had helped with delivering their messages to one another, but nothing he could write would show how he felt about meeting her once more.

Just as the Regalia started to reach cruising speed, Noctis grabbed his head in his palms, hissing through his teeth. From beside him, Gladio leaned in closer. "Noct, what's wrong?" He asked, as Prompto turned around from the passenger's seat while Ignis eyed him from the mirror.

Noctis buckled forward, his gut starting to bunch up inside of him. It felt like someone had stuck a vacuum nozzle down his throat and was trying to suck his internal organs out.

Suddenly Gladio was doubled over in pain as well, cursing and grabbing his torso as the wind was knocked from him. In the same second, Prompto gasped and whined out, no doubt for the same reason as the other two. Ignis had barely applied the brakes when the wave of nausea and same vacuum-like feeling hit him as well, and he nearly veered off the road from the immediate onset of symptoms.

The Regalia's engine choked, the car starting to jolt out of it's usual fluid motion and the wheels locked up. The tires skid abruptly as it slowed to a stop. Barely a second later, the Regalia and it's occupants were swallowed from thin air and disappeared from known existence.

Within the same heartbeat, the void that engulfed their vehicle and surrounded them with the darkest and deepest black space possible had exploded with light, and the Regalia was dropped several feet, slamming into the earth with a harsh impact that no doubt had caused considerable damage.

The four friends looked up at one another, the malady that ailed them mere seconds before gone entirely, but something else was very wrong. They were no longer on the road to the Hammerhead station, or any road for that matter; chunks of asphalt lay in ruins next to their vehicle, amid several other jagged rocks and exposed rebar. This was not the terrain they were driving on previously.

Prompto looked around, his eyes wide and expression apprehensive. "What the hell was that?!" His voice cracked as he squint his eyes in the harsh sunlight. "And...W-Where ARE we?!"

The Regalia had settled on a destroyed street between two tall buildings, visibly decrepit and missing walls and windows in some sections. Old lamp posts lay bent at extreme angles, rusted and without power, benches sun-bleached and in several pieces. More cause for attention was the multitude of blood spatters and assortment of definitely human remains decorating the ground around the car, along with a sprinkling of bullet casings from what was easily a very large gun.

Several feet to the right side of the Regalia, a lone figure stood, holding said large gun in their gloved hands.

Noctis studied the figure, trying to determine if it was friend or foe. It was of obvious humanoid build, but something seemed off. It looked like it was either wearing thick armor or was not an actual human at all. "Is that some kind of robot?" He asked, wondering if he should get out and approach it. "Magitek perhaps?"

Gladio beat him to it and hopped out from the Regalia, Ignis joining close behind him. The figure stood silent and still, it's head tilted to the side as if to study the four strangers. It did not lower the hefty machine gun, but at the same time didn't seem like it was thinking about firing it anytime soon.

Behind the lone figure, a damaged white building loomed from which the sun was starting to pass behind. Near the top, a man stood on the balcony cradling a strange rifle in his arms. "Hey!" He called down to the newcomers. "Where did you come from?"

Gladio waved to the man as he walked closer towards the unknown figure, who had yet to move or acknowledge them. He blocked the sun from his eyes and shouted back to the man on the balcony. "Where are we?"

Before the man on the balcony could respond, and before Gladio and Ignis could reach the strange being in front of them, a deafening crack thundered out from behind them in the distance, the sound of metal reverberating between the buildings. Ignis caught sight of a steel, disc-shaped object as it catapulted through the air and smacked into the side of an abandoned grocery store. From back in the car, Noctis and Prompto were first to see what threw the metal object.

And how they wish they hadn't. Said metal object was an old sewer grate, and the thing that had ripped it from the ground and tossed it through the air without any difficulty..could only be described as a monster.

Noctis had seen plenty depictions of beasts and daemons in his twenty years. Nothing before this had made him truly fear for his life.

A messenger of death itself emerged from the sewers, two thick and hellish horns curved downwards from its scaled head, spikes along its rigid spine, covered in a mar of scales and rough, scabrous skin. At the end of each impressively sized hand it wielded five enormous claws. Two calculating white eyes studied the onlookers, it's head twitched before letting out a blood-chilling roar.

The man from the balcony hollered to them from above. "DEATHCLAW! _RUN!_ "

On que, the monster broke into a full sprint towards the Regalia, its teeth snarled and it's breath huffing and grunting as it barreled closer, it's thick muscular legs pistoning faster as it gained speed. Noctis grabbed Prompto by the collar, who was visibly frozen in shock, and hopped over the side of the car and joined Ignis and Gladio just in time.

It gave no moment of pause as the deathclaw reached the Regalia and it's massive talons swiped upwards furiously at the vehicle, shredding the metal trim as it ripped off the driver's side door in one motion. The screeching metal against razor sounds made Noctis wince as he watched his father's car be destroyed by this beast. "What the hell is going on?!" He turned to question the strange figure from before, but it was no longer behind them.

Ignis noticed as well. "Did that machine abandon us?" he questioned, his daggers out and ready to take the defense. Gladio had his great sword drawn as well, the pair instinctively moving in front to protect the prince as they could only stare in bewilderment, watching the deathclaw slash at the leather upholstery as if it were innards.

A whimper escaped Prompto's lips. "I-It killed the car," he said, voice hoarse, watching with a pained expression as it separated the steering wheel from the dash, tossing it aside.

"Exactly how do we take this thing on?" Gladio desperately questioned the group.

 _ **WHAM!**_

A beam of red light slammed into the deathclaw from behind them. The monster reeled from the impact and wailed, but was not gravely injured. Noctis swiveled his head back to see the guy on the balcony had fired a round from his rifle, and was readying for a second. He delivered another hard blow to the deathclaw, but it wasn't enough to down the beast.

From the left broadside of the building and closest to the deathclaw, the lone figure from before emerged carting its massive machine gun, it's footfalls thundering one after the other. It hoisted the machine gun up as the chassis started to turn. The muzzle grew red hot as it suddenly unloaded utter devastation onto the deathclaw, it's body jerking from the impact as hundreds of bullets pummeled into it. Within seconds the beast let out a gargled cry before it fell backwards into the Regalia, dead.

Seconds passed as the four of them stood in impressed silence, the man from the balcony cheering from above. "Nice one, that went better than expected!" he claimed. "Come back inside, we need to discuss some things. Oh and uhh, you lot," he motioned to the group of four, standing silently in confusion. "Feel free to join us if you'd like."

The robotic-like figure passed the group in steady stride, it's head turned to silently inspect the four of them, strange dark windows where the eyes should be. It looked like a mechanical human wearing a gas mask. It stopped at the foot of the stairs to the building where the man in the balcony was and dropped the machine gun, flexing it's armored fingers in relief. Gladio turned to the rest of the group. "Noct, what should we do? Do you want to check this place out more or see what these people are about?"

Noctis glanced around to their surroundings once more. This was not any place he could recognize; it was straight out of an apocalyptic graphic novel he had read many years ago, but something else was off. The air was thick, and though necessary to breathe it felt wrong somehow. It looked like they didn't have a choice either way; they wanted answers and this was an opportunity to get them. "I say we ask for directions and then figure out where to get a tow, the car's wrecked," Noctis suggested, frowning as he eyed the slashed-up remains of the Regalia as it ominously cradled the deathclaw's ruined body.

A whooshing sound caught their attention and they turned back to face the armored figure once more. The back hatch of the figure unlocked, a crank popping up and every limb unbuckled as a person backed out from inside.

It was small, female and wearing a skin-tight blue suit with bright yellow piping, the number 111 stitched onto the back. Her brown hair danced around her face in the warm wind as she turned around to face them. She approached quickly, a startled expression on her pale face. "So who can explain to me exactly how you just did that?" she asked, gesturing to the Regalia behind them.

Gladio coughed. "Excuse me?" he asked callously.

The woman's green eyes narrowed, her eyebrows knit together. "How did you appear out of thin air?"


	5. Friendly Introductions

"What do you mean we...appeared?" Noctis questioned the woman, trying to grasp how such a feat were possible.

Her expression bounced between confusion and frustration. "How else can I explain it? One second you're not there and the next you're, well, there!" She raked a hand through her hair and out of her eyes. "I'm not crazy, I know what I saw and Preston could probably back me up."

Noctis frowned. "Preston?"

The woman nodded towards the balcony. "That guy, he's uhh, kind of helping me get my bearings."

"Is something the matter, miss?" Ignis tried to decipher her expression as he studied her closely. She was definitely young, perhaps not as young as their group, rather short with feminine curves and soft angles. Her fair skin looked healthy, she had no sign of injury. She however did not fit in with their surroundings; her body suit was almost immaculate, yet the environment around them was a disaster zone. _Such strange clothing,_ Ignis thought to himself. _I've never seen this type of fashion before...and what is that device strapped to her wrist...?_

"Other than the world ending? Everything's just peachy," The woman replied sarcastically, though her derision did little to hide her air of unease.

Gladio raised a scarred eyebrow at her response. "The world ending? What are you talking about?"

The woman's head did a strange tilt back. "Look around you," She gestured at their surroundings, her voice hitched. "Does this seem normal at all to you? I-I know I only just woke up not long ago, and so far I've seen some questionable shit, but-"

"Woahwait _what_?," Prompto interrupted, holding a hand up. "Hang on, pretty lady. What do you mean 'woke up'? And the world ending? Back up a bit! We just arrived to the party, remember?"

She sighed, her shoulders dropping. "Do you not know? HOW can you NOT know? How the bombs dropped, the Great War, two hundred years ago back in 2077?" She chewed a thumbnail, hesitant to divulge her next detail, but decided it was necessary. "Sorry, I know it sounds ridiculous. I'm still trying to understand the facts myself." She paused, feeling the four stares on her. "My robotic housekeeper filled me in, right after I uhh...woke up from being cryogenically frozen by Vault-Tec."

Prompto was first to question her. "What are any of those things? What is a Vault Tec? Is that sorta like magitek?"

Now the woman looked at the men like they were the crazy ones. "Okay, you clearly are not from around here. Everyone knows about Vault-Tec-"

"Wait," Ignis backtracked, "You said, two hundred years ago, it was the year 2077?"

The woman nodded. "Yes, why do you ask?"

Gladio's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "But it's 2017..."

"Okay, I don't know what age you're from but here on planet Earth, at exactly this point in time it is the year 2277 and-"

"Planet EARTH?" The four men questioned in unison, flabbergasted.

"Yes?" She asked, confused to the nth degree.

"We're on Eos," Noctis corrected the woman. "I've never heard of planet Earth."

The woman's jaw dropped slightly, perplexed. "You're...you're ON planet Earth. We're in what was long ago known as the state of Massachusetts...in America...?"

The silence between the group was tangible, the fact they weren't even on the same planet anymore, no matter how impossible it was to explain, started to settle in as the seconds passed. Noctis's stomach was cartwheeling around. He shouldn't be here. They shouldn't be here. They should have been on the way to Altissia, where he could see Luna once again...Nothing prepared them for this. His hand balled in the pocket of his pants, knuckles threatening to tear skin.

Gladio tapped Ignis on the shoulder. "I wonder if this has anything to do with the headaches and stuff back there?" he suggested, hinting at the wreck of the Regalia.

A hand on his chin, Ignis considered Gladio's thinking. For some reason he had a slight case of deja-vu, something to do with the symptoms...

"Noct?" Ignis turned to the raven-haired prince. "When you we're first learning to warp...Did you not complain about feeling ill?"

Noctis's eyes flickered. "Oh, wait yeah I did. I remember that now, but it wasn't as bad as this."

"That's got to mean something," Gladio shifted, shaking out a cramp in his leg. "Something – or someone, wanted us outta Lucis."

Ignis nodded. "Precisely, and I-"

"Okay well, I'm just going to leave now," The woman announced impatiently before turning around and heading for the white building with the balcony, looking down and tapping on the device strapped to her wrist. " _Auf Wiedersehen!_ "

Prompto sprinted towards her. "Hey! Wait, miss!" He caught up to her, patting her on the shoulder. "You're just gonna strand us poor fellows out here?"

The woman kept walking but Prompto matched her speed, coolly strolling backwards as he maintained eye contact, or at least attempted to but she kept her eyes fixated on her wrist as she walked. He gave her a handsome grin. "We sure could use your help!"

"Pfft," The woman huffed slightly. She flicked her eyes up to him then back to her wrist device, tapping on the screen. "You guys handled yourselves just fine back there."

Prompto bunched his eyebrows together. "But we didn't do a thing, that was all you."

She flicked her gaze up to the blond again, her expression blank. "Precisely."

Prompto faked an imaginary stab to the chest. "Straight through the heart, so cold!" he grabbed her arm and she finally stopped, ready to kick him where the sun didn't shine, but his genuinely concerned expression halted her. He spoke again. "Look, I'm sorry to be a stick in the mud, but if what you're saying is true then we need all the help we can get." He dropped his hand from her arm, starting to fidget awkwardly with the zipper on his vest. "I-If you want to, I mean, just until we can figure out how we got here and get back to our world. We'll make it worth your time, promise!"

The woman looked Prompto over, then leaned past him to observe his other three friends. One stood with his arm slung over the hilt of a massive great sword, scratching absently at his dark facial hair. He was obviously in top physical condition. The shorter one yawned, looked around and crossed his lanky arms as he scuffed the dusty earth with his boot. Though he didn't wear anything that set him apart from the all-black clothing the four men wore, he carried himself differently from the rest of the group; Not as if he thought higher of his person, but like his weight was a bigger one to burden. The last member of their ensemble sparked the woman's curiosity. Tall, lithe and toned, he pushed his glasses up with an index finger and looked to be lost in thought. She couldn't read him, and it bothered her more than she was willing to admit.

She sighed, defeated. "Alright."

"Woooo!" Prompto cheered, waving at his three friends to join them. They approached as Prompto shared the news of their new travel companion. "She's coming with us!" He beamed from ear to ear. "All thanks to Yours Truly."

"Confident one, this guy," Remarked the woman, though she offered a small smile as well. _There's strength in numbers, right?_ she thought. _Perhaps this is a smart choice. Perhaps they can help me get my son back..._

"Alrighty, so uhh, where are we off to miss..." Prompto's voice trailed off. "What's your name?"

"Heather," The woman replied. "Heather Redden."

"I'm Prompto," he said, "and that's Noctis, Gladio and Ignis."

Noctis gave a passive wave, while Gladio nodded at her and Ignis bowed courteously.

"It's nice to meet you," Heather expressed. "Very...interesting names."

Ignis offered her a slight, but amiable smile. "I was about to say the very same for yours. I've never heard that name before."

Heather chuckled as she turned to climb the steps of the white building. "Yeah, you guys aren't from around here."


	6. Sanctuary

I entered the old Museum of Freedom building, my four new friends in tow, and met up with Preston Garvey & Co as they waited conglomerated in the foyer. They weren't expecting the Beach Boys to join me, as some of them shifted or stood up while they followed me inside the museum. I made sure to introduce this new group of strangers to the other group of, well, strangers, that I had found not long before the fun stuff outside occurred. Embarrassingly I only recalled one of their names so I let them introduce themselves, and thankfully the others took the same initiative.

"So exactly what did you do out there?" Preston segued into the question of the hour with no time to waste. "Call me crazy, but if I recall you just showed up in mid air, and in a car for that matter."

He had obviously filled his entourage in, as they didn't react to the question and instead eyed the boys in black with uncertainty. I stood off to the side and fidgeted, peeling the paint from a nearly vertical floorboard.

Noctis stepped forward. "Look, we wish we could explain it but we're have no idea what happened ourselves. One second we were driving and the next everything goes dark and well, we ended up here." He gestured openly around with his hands. "We still...don't really know where 'here' is. We've never even heard of this planet before."

Preston shook his head as if to try and knock the absurd possibility from his brain. "How is that even possible? You broke about a handful of physics laws with that stunt you just pulled."

"It wasn't a stunt!" Gladio snapped as he stepped in front of Noctis. The motion looked defensive. Perhaps he was an older sibling? "We can't explain it, but we're here. Not like we had a choice, so end of story."

Christ, he looked dangerous. Mental note: never piss him off.

"Woah woah, okay I got you," Preston backed up in response. "Its just, that kind of stuff doesn't happen everyday is all."

He did have a good point there. Preston exhaled and continued. "Well we won't go around telling people about this, you have our word. The last thing you need is more attention. Speaking of which," He walked over to their supply cache, rummaged around and returned with an old gym bag so stuffed it looked like the zipper was going to snap and spill the contents. He handed it to Gladio. "May want to consider changing your clothes. This has several outfits inside, you'll find something easily. You stick out like a sore thumb, raiders will be on your asses in a minute looking like that."

My head cocked to the side. "Raiders?" I asked.

"Those guys you wiped out before the deathclaw showed up," Preston replied. "Those were raiders. They keep apart from settlements and cities, and they're bad news. Nobody likes them, even traders keep away, for the most part. They steal from anyone if given the chance and would no sooner slit your throat, sometimes for no reason at all."

I frowned. This new and improved Boston: Apocalypse Edition was just getting better and better. He was right, though; the four men from outer space were dressed in expensive, (if not strange-looking) very un-apocalyptic appropriate clothing, while Preston's group was wearing weathered, aged and in some cases tattered outfits. They had to blend in, and so did I as I inspected my still very clean vault suit. I would have to check out the leftover clothes.

Gladio nodded. "Thanks, really."

Preston returned a nod. "The Minutemen are here to help those in need. Let me know if you're interested in joining, once you get your bearings."

"Anywhere we can uhh, change?" Prompto asked, looking around the messy room.

"Actually, we were just discussing our next destination," Preston revealed. "We think Sanctuary is close by, and if it's vacant we might setup a settlement there."

They wanted to what now?! "Hey, that's where I lived before the bombs fell."

Every set of eyes in the room landed on me in a hot second and my ears burst into flames as I let that little factoid out. "Before the bombs fell? You're from the Great War times?" Preston was impressed. "You look good for your age, how'd you not become a ghoul?"

"Ghoul?" I asked again. Great, now I feel stupid.

"Extremely irradiated humans," Marcy Long explained. "They're batshit crazy and just want to kill you."

"Not all of them," Preston corrected her. "Only the feral ones, I know plenty of civil ghouls. There's one running Goodneighbor right now, though he's an uhh, eccentric fellow."

Ignis caught on quick. "Before, you said the Great War was centuries ago." He paced thoughtfully until he was next to me, his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose. "That means you're..over two hundred years old. That's impossible."

I crossed my arms. "Technically I'm twenty-six but yes, I used to live in Sanctuary way back when. Vault-Tec was freezing the residents of Sanctuary Hills, to make us sleep for a very long time." My eyes fell. "When I woke up, there was no one around, and the other residents were dead." My voice wavered slightly, cotton in my throat. "Including my husband."

"My word," Ignis inhaled sharply. "Apologies."

"That's horrible," Preston added. "I'm sorry, did you have any other family with you?"

"Yes," I replied, not looking at anyone. "My son, Shaun. He was an infant, and he was kidnapped. These two people they...They killed my husband and took him."

My heart was wrung-out like a wet towel and hung to dry. Everyone in the room responded audibly with remorse for me, they said how awful it was, that it wasn't fair, the guy named Prompto hugged me uncomfortably tight and it felt strange because I barely knew him. Still, the action made my eyes sting as I tried with superhuman strength to not cry. I bit my lip, hard, trying to concentrate on something, anything other than my son's tiny hands, the way his head smelled, his smile -

The elderly lady, Mama Murphy shuffled forward from the corner she was leaning against. She looked exhausted, even for her age. "There is reason in everything that happens, child. The world is cruel but it has a schedule..."

Prompto released me from his suffocating hug, looking...insulted? "Hey! That's not nice. You're not helping the situation."

She kept her slow shuffle towards the center of the haphazard group. "Welcome to planet Earth, kid. This world is not nice, the people are not nice, life is not nice. But we try, we persevere in hopes that we find our happiness, our purpose and our _raison d'etre_."

Without warning, Mama Murphy's hand shot at Ignis, grabbing his forearm in a remarkably tight grip that made him wince. She pulled him towards her, her face several inches from his own, and probed into his eyes with impossible knowledge and scrutiny. I could almost feel her milky gaze trying to read the inside of his skull, and his face told he looked somewhat violated, but he didn't look away. Her sight was a vice on his own and it demanded to let her in. She didn't blink and held his stare as she spoke, her voice low and grave. "My child," She whispered, "Why...Why is there so much, darkness..." Her eyes flicked momentarily from Ignis to me, and back again. She bowed her head, her grip loosened on his forearm. "Though you are resilient, and courageous...I am so, so terribly sorry..."

Everyone fixated on Ignis as Mama Murphy kept her head hung low, her expression difficult to read. I coughed awkwardly, and a room full of heads swiveled in my direction. "Err, need to brush up on your people skills Mama Murphy," I tried to ease the tension in the room. It worked for the most part, yet Ignis was locked in his place, studying the elderly woman intently. What did she know?

Thankfully Preston broke the awkward silence. "We really should get going if we want to make it to Sanctuary today," He announced. I noticed the light trickling through a broken window was definitely dimmer than I could recall. He hoisted an old army knapsack over his shoulder as he slung a gun case over the other. "Everyone, grab a pack and we'll head out. Sturges, how are we looking on ammo?"

The grease monkey in denim overhauls checked another random sack. He rummaged around, several boxes of ammunition visible inside. He lifted the lid off one box; only seven bullets inside. He sighed. "We're good, but not great," Sturges replied, zipping it up. "Let's try to avoid any big bad wolves."

"Alright," Preston took the front and headed for the entrance of the Museum. "let's make tracks, can you guys handle yourselves if things go awry?" he was looking at the four men in black.

Gladio grinned in response. "Hah, oh hell yeah! You ain't seen nothing yet." Was he seriously flexing? Good grief.

"That's very true," I mused.

"Ouch!" Prompto exclaimed dramatically. "You're a fiesty one."

I gathered an old golf bag that was stuffed with sleeping bags and musty blankets, wrinkling my nose. It would be difficult to sleep in these, but guessed there wasn't a better choice readily available in apocalyptic times. We had to make due with what we had.

Noctis helped Gladio load up his massive tattooed arms with boxes of canned food and bottled water then grabbed a burlap sack of flour, balancing it over his shoulder blade. He tapped Ignis on the shoulder. "Hey, do we have anything in the trunk of the Regalia we could bring with us?"

"I packed a small stock of spices, first aid supplies and some coffee," he replied, getting his grip on a case of tools. My ears perked up at the word coffee. Damn, I could use one of those. "And, we also have the camping gear. Let's stop by the car and grab everything. Noct could you retrieve the car keys from my pocket?"

"Sorry bro, hands are kinda full," He replied, patting the over-sized sack of flour.

I had free hands, so I offered. "I can help you with that. Which one?"

He hesitated, but then, "Front left."

His expression looked almost apprehensive. I guessed I was still a stranger to them and strangers didn't typically ask if they could fish something out of someone's pants, so it made sense. I reached into his pant pocket, wondered why they had to be slim-fit, relieved when my fingers grazed something thin and metal. I looped my finger in the key ring and pulled it out. "Here you go," I tucked it in the hand that looked to have a looser hold on the case, smiling when his eyes met mine.

"Thank you, miss Redden," He responded, though he must have misread my delivery as his face kept that same suspicious look, and my smile abandoned ship. He turned to join Gladio and Prompto as the group headed out.

Noctis fell into stride beside me as we exited the museum. "I'm sorry to hear about your husband," he said, his words genuine. "That really sucks."

I had to chuckle dryly at his choice of words. "Yeah, it hasn't been easy. Thank you, really." I chewed my lip. "I'm sorry for the situation you and your friends are in. I have no idea how I would deal with this."

Noctis sighed. "It is what it is, I guess." He readjusted his hold on the burlap sack. "We'll figure it out, hopefully soon. Heh, I was actually on my way to a wedding when we got off track."

"Oh really? Who's wedding?"

He smiled. "Mine."

My eyes lit up. "Oh wow, congratulations," I offered. "Well let's get you back sooner than later so you don't keep her waiting." I looked at him, really looked at him. He was so young, and already getting married?

Different planet Heather, I reminded myself. Who knows what kind of customs are regular, wherever they were from...

Noctis seemed happy in response, though his eyes told a different story. "Yeah, I can't wait to see her again..." He trailed off as we approached the sad ruin that was the Regalia. Ignis set the case of tools down and unlocked the back end, thankful the deathclaw didn't decide to check out their junk in the trunk. It was a small trunk, but it was packed neatly with a variety of goodies and some compact camping gear including a full-size tent. He added them to Gladio's case of non-perishables (damn that guy can lift a ton of shit) and shut the lid before retrieving the tools again.

Then we were off. Sanctuary was not as far as Preston made it out to be, perhaps five minutes on foot, though it was up a rather steep hill that had us all panting near the top. Over the crest we could make out the apex of the wooden plank bridge that joined Sanctuary Hills to this side of the river, which was almost audible as we neared the ancient Red Rocket gas station and garage. Sturges looked incredibly intrigued as we traveled past it, commenting on how he would scope the place out the following day to find spare parts and Prompto gladly offered to join him. Four hands are better than two, he said.

I studied the landscape wistfully. The trees were nothing more than wooden spears protruding from the ground, branches drooping in some spots and snapped in others, many bent from the impact of the bombs. Grass was just yellow now, I gathered, either that or it was long past it's prime. The earth was dead, and people from my time had cut the cord on humanity. They probably didn't think twice of the aftermath's toll on mother nature, or the wildlife and species. Selfish and headstrong, the world leaders never saw the big picture and failed us all, all for the sake of power. Billions paid their price, and in a way my husband did too. We all did. Two hundred years later and here we were, forced to make due with the shell of a dying planet, and apparently as we killed one another to survive day to day. I imagined my life would one day be decided on a bottle of water, if it ever came to it, and desperate times call for desperate measures, right?

"Hey, we're almost there!" Preston called from up ahead. I already knew that, but didn't respond.

We crossed over the bridge and were in Sanctuary Hills, or what remained of it. I had passed through on my way to Concord, but not before stopping in to find Codsworth in the ruins of our house. Sure enough I could just make out his form hovering past Mr and Mrs. Able's destroyed house, one of his appendages snipping at a bush.

Preston had raised his laser rifle towards my Mr. Handy. "Careful, we have company," he said, readying to fire a shot.

Without thinking I shoved Preston sideways and his finger hit the trigger, though the round ricocheted off a dead lamp post instead of hitting anyone. "That's my robot you're shooting at!" I protested. "Watch it!"

He gave me a surprised look. "Woah, alright then. But don't do that again, I could have hurt someone."

I ignored his patronizing tone, I passed the group and headed to my old house, waving at Codsworth as I got approached. Preston's group hung back while surprisingly Prompto, Gladio, Noctis and Ignis followed, almost eager to see where I was heading. Either that or they wanted to get away from the main group for the time being.

Codsworth's bubble head swiveled and his telescopic eyes flicked almost excitedly. "My heavens, mum! You've brought company. Shall I fix us some hors d'oeuvres? I hope you lot do fancy the taste of mole rat, as I'm fresh out of spring rolls."

Prompto burst into laughter. "Oh my gosh," He said through breaths. "He's Ignis!"

Noctis and Gladio were tickled pink by his observation and they too broke into hysterics, though Ignis was not impressed. "I most certainly am not a robot, and that's the last time I make dessert for any of you fools."

Gladio chortled. "Dude, he even has the same accent as you."

Ignis crossed his arms, glaring daggers at the other guys. I was lucky to not be a part of that inside joke.

Codsworth turned to me. "Miss Heather, you have made some...interesting friends."

I rolled my eyes passively. "Codsworth, do you think we could easily setup camp somewhere here?" I asked, setting the golf bag of sleeping gear down at my feet. "They have a tent but that only holds so many people."

"Surely we could make suitable accommodations in the house, mum. I believe the laundry room and Shaun's bedroom will-"

My throat hitched. "Not the house, please." Too soon.

Codsworth tilted a bit, then turned another direction and hovered three houses to the east. "We could make use of this structure. The roof looks stable and like it won't fall with a gust of wind."

I had to agree with him, it was our safest option for the time being. "Sounds good, let's setup your guy's tent and then we'll help the others get settled in."

After the tent was pitched, we laid out several blankets and sleeping bags on the softest spots in the house. We made decent time as well, the stars only showing up once we had the last bed made. This had been the Whitfield family's old house circa pre-war. I doubt they would mind us using it, given that they were frozen solid back in the vault. I supposed I should have offered travelling up there to stay for the night, but that was the last place I wanted to be. Two hundred years too long in there, I thought. Plus, Nate...

I exhaled, staring into the small fire pit they had arranged, forcing down the beef jerky that was handed out to the group. Ignis was working on sandwiches, spreading honey onto rye bread and adding dried berries and fruit. It was delicious, as did many of the other's agree as they complimented his skill. According to Noctis, Ignis was quite the chef. "He can basically cook anything," He spoke of his comrade. "I bet he could bake a shoe and it would taste good."

Ignis didn't respond, though I could detect a whisper of a smug smirk as he sat beside his friends. Again, so difficult to read. It was almost irritating. I could tell he was an intellectual but that wasn't just it. He had a role in this group. Well, they all had a role so to speak, but his seemed to have more gravity, more substance than the other three. And the way he reacted around Noctis? There was almost an aspect of his purpose that leaned slightly towards servitude. While it seemed wrong, it worked well for them. I guessed there was history that I was not aware of.

It took me an embarrassingly long amount of time to realize he was staring back at me, and I physically jolted from the realization. I blinked and took another bite of my sandwich, looking away as my cheeks felt hotter either from the fire or from the awkwardness of the situation. I could still feel his eyes on me though, like he was the one trying to figure me out now.

After everyone finished their meals, plans were made for the following day. Preston had high hopes of turning this place into a settlement, mapping out where he wanted to see a water pump, some vegetation crops, a workshop...

But my mind was elsewhere. All I could think of was my missing son, and how alone I felt without Nate by my side. This wasn't fair. My person...My Nate.

Everyone turned in for the night soon after, but I couldn't sleep. My head was a dangerous place full of thoughts I shouldn't be thinking, about how my family was gone...

* * *

Ignis shifted in the tent to be closer to the exit, the heat from four bodies beginning to make the space feel uncomfortable as he tried to cool off. He decided to gently zip open a corner and let some fresh air in, then turned over to go back to sleep. A soft whelp caught his attention, and he flipped over again to hold his ear against the opening. He didn't understand the sound at first, but then a sniffle followed by a sob followed suit and he realized someone was crying outside, near the tent but not exactly close by.

He didn't have to guess who it was. 

* * *

_**Whew! Long chapter is long :)**_

 _ **I really hope you are all enjoying this so far, I'm having a blast writing it for you. Thank you for the reviews and favorites.**_


	7. Our Journey Begins Here

Waking from a night of scarce sleep is never fun. I rolled onto my other side and reached to my left, patting my hand around, trying to feel for my alarm clock before realization kicked in. Well, that was a habit that would soon be kicked. I was not happy to open my eyes in almost pitch blackness; the sun wasn't up just yet. There was no way I would be falling asleep again though, so I begrudgingly sat up. My cheeks felt tacky, no doubt from the crying last night. I needed to wash the day-old feeling from my face, but as running water was most likely now considered a privilege instead of a necessity, that wasn't an option.

My eyes adjusted to the darkness. Everyone else in the Whitfield's old living room was still down, so I folded my sleeping quarters and tiptoed out, thankful there was a bit more light outdoors.

I did not expect to see the fire roaring healthily (was it ever extinguished?) and someone squatted in front of it tending to a pot, held up over the flames with two sticks and what looked like chicken wire. I recognized their lean form as Ignis, and as he rose and turned in my direction he swayed momentarily. He wasn't expecting anyone to be up yet, I reckoned. "Oh," he gave with a surprise. "You're up early. It's four-thirty in the morning."

I strolled closer to the fire to check out what he was up to. "I could say the same for yourself, and no way is it only four-thirty. Has to be at least 5 or so."

He set down a wooden spoon at his cooking station and pulled something from his pocket, something rectangular and shiny. He pressed a button and the front lit up, the numbers 4:33am brightly illuminated.

"Interesting way to tell time," I mused. "Don't you have watches where you're from?"

Ignis looked puzzled. "Have you no idea what a cell phone is?"

"A what-now?" I checked out the device as he presented it. The screen went black and he pressed the button again to light it up again. "Cell phone? How do you call people with that? There's no cord attached."

He looked flabbergasted, but explained. "These are connected to a wireless network, and from there you can make and receive telephone calls, or text messages." He swiped a finger on the screen and it changed, several icons reacting to his touch. I realized my mouth was hanging open a bit, impressed at the technology in his hand.

I noticed text at the top: OUT OF SERVICE AREA, it read. I snickered and pointed it out to him. "What an understatement, am I right?"

He didn't laugh back , but a smirk pulled the corner of his lips. "Yes, you could say it creates another problem." And like that, the smile was gone. "Our phones have been rendered useless, it seems."

I sat in one of the folding chairs the earth-newcomers brought, flicked my Pip-Boy on and adjusted the time manually. "This is _my_ cell-phone," I bragged. "Though it doesn't make calls, at least I don't think. I guess it's helpful for keeping information, and allows me to-"

My thumb flinched and flicked the holotape play button and suddenly,"Hi, honey! Listen, I-"

I quickly pushed the pause button, feeling Ignis's inquiring eyes on me. My throat was scratchy. "S-sorry about that," I stuttered. "Stupid fat fingers."

He turned back to the fire, resuming his stirring, but spoke. "That was your husband's voice."

It wasn't a question. "Yes, it was."

"You played that tape several times last night," He stated, and embarrassment squeezed my ribs. He got up again, grabbed a bottle of some mystery seasoning and resumed cooking, but not before pausing to say, "I am truly sorry for your loss."

I nodded slowly in response. "Thank you."

"Are you, going to be okay?" His head was over his shoulder to face me again, his voice almost...worried? Was he actually concerned about me? I was caught off-guard, so I didn't answer immediately. It made my response lack merit. "I'm fine, I just need some time is all."

He stared off into the distance before back down to his pot. The silence was awkward and long and dammit, why wasn't anyone else up yet?

I got out of my seat and joined Ignis at the fire, peering into the pot as he cooked. Something smelled delicious. "Whatcha making?" I asked, eager to change the subject.

It was obvious he welcomed the tonal shift as well. "Just some basic oatmeal," He replied. "Unfortunately I packed mostly dry goods, so until we find more variety of ingredients this will have to do."

I looked past him to a crate of canned foods from Preston's group. "I don't think they would mind if you used something of theirs."

"It's not my place to make assumptions," He said, using small cloths to handle the hot pot and place it on the folding table that served as his cooking station. It looked like a big enough batch to feed the entire group, his and Preston's combined.

He lined up four bowls, his expression almost sheepish. "We'll have to take turns eating," He said, and I realized why; there were ten people in total, including myself.

A bustling stirred from the tent nearby as the front flap unzipped, and Gladio climbed out from the tent. He stretched his tattooed arms up and over his head, making him reach nearly eight feet probably. How such a massive man fit in a tent like that and sleep comfortably, let alone with three other grown men was the Question of the Day.

He lumbered over towards us, scratching his stomach sleepily. "Mornin," He greeted with sleep still stuck in his throat.

"Good morning," Ignis nodded at him. "Breakfast?"

Gladio gave a teeth-framing grin. "Don't mind if I do." He filled a bowl with oatmeal, grabbed a spoon and took a seat next to me, almost collapsing back into the chair as it strained to keep his solid form up. "Better get it while it's hot," He said to me.

I declined the offer. "Oh no thank you, I'm not that hungry."

"Missing out, girl," Gladio said with a mouth full. I could smell the cinnamon and sugar from where I sat and my stomach betrayed my words. Hunger started to rake at my insides.

"You're right, I could eat."

Ignis filled a bowl and handed me a spoon before grabbing a portion for himself, and the three of us sat next to the crackling embers of the fire. I blew on a spoonful and took a bite of the tastiest oatmeal I've ever had. It was sweet, but not intoxicatingly so, and spiced perfectly with cinnamon and clove and, something else? And it melted in my mouth. I was impressed; my recipe paled in comparison to this. Also, his idea of basic? Way to set the bar high. "Holy jeez, that's good," I said, satisfaction drenching my words.

"Iggy knows his way around the kitchen," Gladio said into his bowl. "Dude can cook a mean, uhh, you name it."

Ignis cleared his throat as he adjusted his glasses. "I'll take that as a compliment."

We ate in silence as the sun started to make an appearance, the sky a gorgeous palette of deep indigo and purple and pinkish near the horizon, the treetops dipped in gold. I felt the autumn air chill the back of my neck and let my hair out of its ponytail as I surveyed the now better-lit neighborhood ruins. Some houses were lucky like mine and the Whitfield's as they stood the test of time, while others had succumbed to atomic annihilation and lay in complete wreckage, piles of clapboard and wooden posts a mess resting atop their foundations. It would not be safe to clean up, imagining a board with a rusty nail that screamed Tetanus puncturing someone's foot. What hospital would they go to in that situation?

Wait, where would we go in any emergency situation, period? My worry was pinpricks as goosebumps covered my skin. Guess we'd have to cross that bridge when we got to it.

Preston emerged from the Whitfield's house, already carrying his laser rifle.I haven't seen him without it yet. He probably spooned with it last night. I grinned at my own joke, scraping the sides of the bowl to finish off my breakfast. Gladio nodded to him as he joined us. "Sleep well?" He asked.

Preston tipped his brimmed hat at us. "Given the sleeping quarters, yes I slept just fine."

"Care for some breakfast?" Ignis offered, gesturing to the steaming pot of oatmeal on the table.

The man's entire face changed. "A hot meal? Wow, yes please!"

One by one the others joined us as they woke up, and we did as Ignis suggested and took turns with breakfast to accommodate everyone. I tried to help him with cleaning up his cooking station but he assured me it wasn't necessary, and that he "had a system," so I left him and the group alone as I skimmed the outer edge of Sanctuary and headed down to the river near the south, traversing carefully over the rubble from various houses and the ruin of stone from the river boarder. I sat close to the water's edge, to gather my thoughts and consider my next move.

What I needed to find was a city, or civilization. Preston had mentioned a town named Goodneighbor, and I overheard Jun Long talking to Marcy about a place called Diamond City. I didn't recognize either so they must be post-war names. There had to be someone around that could help me find Shaun, or who would have information of some sort relating to his disappearance, or of my husband's murderer. I doubted the police were around nowadays, but someone out there must be able to help me.

I pulled at a thread on the sleeve of my vault suit, still feeling like this wasn't real. I was most likely still in the white fog of dreamland back in that cryo-pod. It would explain how four young men in a car dropped in out of nowhere, claiming to be from a different planet. Truthfully I was kind of disappointed they were (at least, seemed to be) normal human beings and not tiny green men with silver jumpsuits and fishbowls on their heads. How they ended up here posed so many questions; how did they survive the vacuum of space? Or how did they not crash like a meteor? Had they pulled this stunt before the war, they would most likely be taken by the government or Area 51 perhaps, and questioned relentlessly until they just executed them because they weren't giving anything up. Either that or conduct experiments on them.

Preston was right; they couldn't stick out, for their own safety's sake. Whatever the cause for the arrival, they needed help and I needed theirs. I stood, brushed my backside free of dirt and made my way back up the hill to join the group again. The sun was up in full force now, putting the ruin of Sanctuary on full display for us. Our group had separated into their own circles of discussion, Preston talking to his people and the aliens going over suggestions. Codsworth hovered around between each clique, bumbling without any sort of purpose. From overhearing both sides, it sounded as if they both had very different ideas of fun for today; Preston and Co were on board with the idea of starting the settlement in full force, while the other fellas had little interest in hanging around much longer.

I noticed they had changed their clothes, and we're definitely blending in better, their outfits well-worn but clean as clean could offer given the circumstances. Prompto had changed into a dark flight suit and jacket, while Noctis was fastening the belt on his very drifter-esque ensemble. I was shocked Gladio managed to find something with sleeves that contained his biceps, the leather armor and jeans combination he wore tight but not uncomfortable on him. Ignis looked ironically the most casual of the bunch, wearing jeans, a surprisingly-white-for-the-apocalypse t-shirt and a bomber jacket. He had the knapsack of clothing in his hand.

"Here you are," Ignis passed it to me. "I know you mentioned wanting to change. There are a few items left if you are interested."

"Thanks," I said, taking the bag and heading behind the Whitfield's house to change. Once I was situated, I rummaged through the pack for something that looked Heather-sized. I came up with a pair of ancient blue-ish jeans and a long-sleeved grey t-shirt, visibly past is prime with a few tiny holes near the hem and very worn sleeve cuffs. After paranoidly checking again to make sure I was alone, I kicked off my boots, unlatched my Pip-Boy from my wrist and unzipped my vault suit, peeling it from my body and kicking it off my feet like old socks at the end of the day. Exposed to the elements in only my underwear, bra and white tank top, I dressed myself with haste. I was in luck, the pants while slightly tighter than I hoped for did not hinder my movement, and the grey shirt did it's job of being, well, just a shirt.

I put my boots back on, tucking the jeans into them neatly, fastened my Pip-Boy back in place and stuffed the vault suit into the bag of clothes. Someone else could rock that, for all I cared. I was glad to get out of it, finally. Two-hundred years too long in that eyesore.

Returning from behind the house, I noticed Preston's people had already started on clearing an area for food stocks to be planted, while Sturges was rummaging through a toolbox. The four other guys were standing together, and I could tell they were waiting to speak with me. It was apparent that I had missed out on a discussion. I approached them, tossing the bag of clothes with the other sacks and boxes that we carted with us. "Well," I breathed, "What's on the agenda today?"

Gladio looked at me, a sense of purpose rippling off his broad shoulders. "We, are going to find your son."


	8. Dogmeat

It was past seven am when Gladio, Ignis, Noctis, Prompto and myself left Sanctuary Hills. We explained to Preston our plan and while he was disappointed that we chose to leave, understood as best as he could. He provided us with a paper map of the Boston area, though I both knew Boston like the back of my hand and also came equipped with a more accurate version on my Pip-Boy. He donated several bottles of water and a few rations of food, as a token of thanks for helping his people make it to Sanctuary. I did request that he leave my house untouched; someday, when and if we would return, I would sort it out myself. For now, I was far from ready to pass the threshold.

Sturges also insisted on us taking a few firearms, though he was not able to part with any of the scarce ammunition they had. At least it was something. Noctis assured me him and his buddies didn't need any, saying they had weapons of their own they could "call" which made me question his sanity. I grabbed a handgun and a combat knife, and a harness for both to sit at my waist.

Codsworth was left behind, a difficult decision that I would probably later regret, but he was not offended. He ordered my companions to keep me safe, and decided his help would be better suited for construction within the new settlement. I had patted his shiny spherical head and bid him farewell, thanking him for his help. With that the five of us were off, Gladio playing our pack mule with a hiker's rucksack over his shoulders, carrying all of our goodies (including our camping gear) as if it weighed nothing.

We were heading south on the road towards Concord now, Prompto humming a catchy tune as he walked beside Noctis at the front, while Gladio conversed with Ignis about times back on their home planet, often mentioning a place called Insomnia. Ignis was also scanning the paper map, responding to Gladio with "mhm"s and "indeed"s. We descended the hill approaching the old Red Rocket station. I took up the rear, walking alone and listening to bits and pieces of the older boy's conversation. We decided against stopping in to search for supplies, knowing Sturges would probably make good use of any salvage, so we started to pass by it when suddenly-

"Hey, did you guys hear that?" Prompto had stopped in his tracks, his ear cocked behind him. Everyone else halted as well and listened intently.

Sure enough, I could make out ...Growling? That couldn't be good. I looked apprehensively at them. "So, that doesn't sound friendly." I stated obviously.

The growling only got louder, and I realized it was coming from behind me. I swung around to find a large German Shepard dog, his heckles up and a maw of dangerously sharp teeth bared, ears flat and prowling towards us, hunting us. A folded red bandanna was tied around his neck like a collar; this was someone's pet? His eyes were wide, pupils dilated, and he looked ready to kill. I backed up and into Gladio, who looked just as alarmed as I was. The dog continued his pursuit.

Prompto raised his hands, trying to maintain a calm tone in his shaky voice. "H-Hey buddy," He greeted the dog, but it didn't waiver in it's bloodthirsty menace, a tendril of saliva stringing from his chops.

I had my hand on the gun, ready to draw it at the right time but not relishing in the fact that I might have to actually kill it. The possibility of disease or bleeding out from a bite was the only thing convincing me it was necessary. Mentally I had hoped the canine would just turn-tail and leave us alone so I wouldn't have to -

The dog lunged forward in a blink but not directly at us, darting through my legs at impossible speed and through our group, straight into the dead bushes and attacked something out of sight. The savage barks and snapping of jaws made me cringe, and as I bounced my eyes at the other guys they too had the same uncertain look. The bush shook violently as the dog and whatever else it was fighting clashed, for several seconds until a pained yelp gurgled out and all went silent.

"Oh no," Noctis inhaled sharply, keeping his voice low. "Something got it."

But he was mistaken, as not a second later the same German Shepard from before leaped from the brush to join us, tail wagging and panting softly as if he were truly man's best friend. He seemed happy to see us, a complete 180 from the monster we saw seconds ago. Prompto knelt down in front of the pup, carefully reaching out to pet him. The dog was eager for the affection and bumped his muzzle into his hand. "I think he was protecting us," He suggested, scratching behind his perky ear. "Good boy!"

The Shepard rolled onto his back, begging for a belly scratch and Prompto gladly obliged. The dog gave us a goofy look, his mouth slack as his tongue hung out the side, 100% playful.

"Good boy, indeed," I agreed. "We should keep going though, we got a lot of ground to cover."

With a dismal "Aww" from Prompto, we started down the broken road again, however the dog did not seem eager to leave us. He kept my pace, walking dutifully at my left flank, looking rather proud of his new friends. "Hmph," Gladio mumbled to me. "Looks like you have a new pet."

I wasn't complaining. He was cute, a healthy looking pup with smart eyes. And he obviously could handle his own in a fight; He would prove useful, that was certain.

Noctis looked passed his shoulders and back to me. "Gonna name him anything?"

"Oooh oooh I know!" Prompto raised his hand like an elementary student. "How about Hunter? It would fit him well."

I looked down at him. I guess the name kind of suited him, but..Something caught the sunlight, attached to the red bandanna around his neck. I bent down to touch it, only to discover it was an actual dog tag fashioned into a name plate. Scrawled in messy writing etched into the tag was the name DOGMEAT.

"Dogmeat?" I questioned audibly and the Shepard's ears perked up in response. Yep, he knew his name alright. "Your name is _Dogmeat?_ "

"The hell kind of name is that?" Gladio scoffed.

I scratched Dogmeat's neck as I let the tag go. "Well, he knows it so I won't try to change it. Where's your owner, bud?"

Dogmeat's ears flattened and he let out a soft whine in response. "Oh," I replied. "Well, you can come with us."

He was back to his happy panting and tail wag. Woah, too smart for his own good.

Our new four-legged friend at my side, we continued though Concord, the remains of the Regalia and the deathclaw passenger along the way. Noctis looked especially pained as we passed it. I looked at Ignis, raising an inquisitive eyebrow at him. "His father's car," he answered in a hushed tone.

"Ouch," I whispered back. "Wonder how his insurance will handle that..."

After Concord, we walked for several miles uninterrupted through the wasteland of the Commonwealth, the aftermath of the Great War apparent everywhere: dilapidated houses slumped over, exhausted from the years. Parking lots now served as car graveyards, their rusted bodies still, never to run again. Overpasses half erected and split in two created roads to nowhere. My heart sunk for the city I loved so much, to see it desolate, a shell of it's former self, was almost painful. A reminder that my own species had caused this. It wasn't fair. I kept my eyes down, focusing only on the cracked pavement as we traveled, not willing to see the ruins of Boston anymore.

We kept on the road heading south as it seemed the easiest route to Diamond City, where Preston heavily suggested we visit as apparently there was a detective there who might be able to help us. The route by car would be quick, perhaps fifteen minutes or so; by foot, we would need to stop for the night at least once. We still had a lot of daylight thankfully, the sun just starting to peak in the sky above.

"Hey guys," Noctis turned back to us. "We got company."

Up ahead next to the shell of a very dead bus, a couple of mole rats scurried around, sniffing the earth and looking for lunch. One of them overturned an old lid to a garbage pail and struck gold, their little snouts feasting on whatever was under it.

Prompto walked forward, a confident bounce in his step. He turned and winked to us, a devious grin on his pale lips. "I got this, easy peasy!"

What happened next is still beyond my explanation. His right hand extended out, lighting fast, and a handgun materialized in his grasp from particles of light. I couldn't believe my eyes as he aimed the gun at the two mole rats and with a quick _POW! POW!_ , they dropped hard and fast, dead.

He turned on his heel, giving a quick "Booyah!" as he faced us. "Still got it, fellas. Hey Heather, you good?"

I most certainly was not good, pal. No sir. My eyes tried to pop from their sockets. "The _FUCK_ did you just do?!" I cried, my voice going up an octave too high.

Prompto casually leaned back, twirled the handgun by the trigger guard and as soon as it appeared it was gone, dissolving into the same particles that formed it. He kept the same sly smirk as before. "Nothin'," he quipped playfully.

I looked at the other three men, searching for an answer. Noctis exhaled, almost annoyingly. "It's just...something we can do. Kinda hard to explain. Just... trust us, okay?"

"All of you can do that?"

The four of them nodded. This defied logic. It didn't make sense and I was not having it. I was already forced to just accept them poofing into fucking existence, and now this?! "The hell kind of magical place are you from?! You can't just make stuff appear and disappear like that. It doesn't make sense! I can't just willingly follow you around if you won't even tell me-"

"Heather!" Ignis interrupted curtly. "We are not from your world. What is unexplainable to you is common practice to us. Please, keep an open mind." He pinched the bridge of his nose with gloved fingers. "As we are having to adjust to the situation in this world, and it is not simple. We are not...welcoming the idea of having to kill human beings, but will do so if our safety – and your safety – is compromised."

I frowned, defeated. My lungs deflated as I looked up at him, his calculating eyes piercing my shield. "I'm sorry," I said meekly. He made me feel microscopic without even raising his voice.

Dogmeat whined beside me. The other guys shuffled uncomfortably, but Ignis held my gaze. It took many seconds for his overwhelmed expression to meld into a forgiving sigh. His rigid form softened as he eased, blinking slowly at me, audibly exhaling through his nostrils. "We want to help you, as you wish to help us. For that to benefit us all, we need to trust in one another. Will that be a problem?"

"No, it won't," I replied through pursed lips, annoyed that he was berating me. I was the older one here; it felt incredibly out of place.

"Good," he said, and turned to Gladio. "How are we doing for time?"

Gladio pulled his cell phone from his pocket. "It's almost noon. We better keep moving."

"Right," Noctis stretched, almost sleepily. "Lemme know when we're stopping for the night. I need a nap already."

* * *

With the tent pitched, I worked on starting a fire as Prompto and Noctis set up the folding chairs. A tree stump nearby served well as a fifth seat, and Prompto rolled it over to join the circle. We had made it just southeast of the outskirts of Lexington, in a small tuck in the bush that was open but not immediately exposed, close to Rocky Narrows Park. We covered good ground for the day, as the sun decided to dip past the trees.

A fire roaring, I got up and patted my jeans. Gladio was chopping firewood with his massive great-sword, a feat that was both impressive and hilarious to watch. Ignis was setting up his cooking station, one of our recent victims laying on the table. It was a difficult decision but we ultimately chose to cook the lone mole rat we found here, and Prompto made quick work of it. I wasn't fully on-board myself but we had to eat, and surviving on dry rations and canned food should be saved for very very desperate times. Let's hope it doesn't come to that.

I stood opposite of Ignis and watched him work across the table with the precision of a machine. He flayed the mole rat's carcass with a razor-sharp knife, bending the blade at exactly the right angle to remove exactly the right amount of skin and cartilage, turning it over to begin the de-boning process, extreme concentration in his jade eyes. Again, with perfect cuts he stripped the pink tenders from the bone, setting them aside in neat little rows from smallest to largest. "My apologies for my harshness, earlier," he said, his voice low.

I wasn't expecting him to speak. "It's alright," I replied. "You were right. I'm sorry for not going with the flow so easily. I'm still getting used to, well, being alone..."

He stopped, two eyes peering at me over his glasses. "You're not alone," He assured, matter of factually. His words resignating within me. "We will do whatever it takes to help you find your son. You have my word."

My eyes fell to study the blade in his hand. "Until you can go back to your world." My voice was barely a squeak, but he heard it.

He let out a long sigh. "Yes, I'm afraid so. We have troubles back on Eos that require our immediate attention, and the sooner we can get back the better." He added the mole rate meat to a pan, readying it to be cooked over the fire. "I would be...more than happy to tell you about it, whenever you're ready."

I followed him to the fire and as he squatted down to balance the pan over the flames, I placed a hand on his shoulder. "Thank you."

Ignis responded with a slow nod, concentrating on the fire.

* * *

Our stomachs full and the stars out in full force, we extinguished the fire and one by one climbed into the tent. I went first, not wanting to be crammed between two of them, and got underneath the sleeping bag cover and zipped up. The rest of them filed in one after the other, Gladio then Noctis, Prompto, Ignis and Dogmeat even hobbled inside. Ignis zipped the flap closed behind him.

I was surprised at how roomy it was in the deceivingly small tent; A tall guy such as Gladio was able to sit up and still have about a foot of clearance, and there was enough space between each of us to not be squished, yet at the same time you had to make fast friends because after all it was still a tent. I rolled onto my back as the rest of them settled in, Ignis advised Noctis against using his cell-phone for something called King's Knight, as it would make his battery die sooner and they had no way of charging it. Prompto was checking the battery on his camera (had I not seen him with that earlier? I didn't recall) and Gladio was already fast asleep.

Or at least I thought he was, as his right eye flicked open to look at me. "You hangin' in there, Heather?" he asked, his voice gravelly.

I shut my eyes tightly, trying to prevent the tears from spilling over. "Yeah," I lied.

* * *

 ** _Yowzah! Two chapters in one day. My brain is fried but I'm getting to the good stuff, the meat of the story is starting to come together nicely. Again thank you for reading :)_**


	9. Request for Backup

A shuffling of movement and fabric stirred my sleep, but after the tent unzipped I was wide awake. It was still dark outside. Dammit! Not again. After laying still for several seconds, hearing the culprit who broke my sleep bustling around outside the tent, I took care to not wake anyone up as I limbered up and at 'em, my legs sore from the previous day's trek. Dogmeat whined from behind me, so I let him out as well before zipping the hatch back up. Now, exactly who woke the beast?

Ignis was crouched down, starting a fire. For some reason, I wasn't surprised to see him. He was pissing me off already; how did he manage to not have bed-head? His short shag looked like he spent a good hour fussing with it in the mirror. I stretched up and twisted my torso to work the sleep out of my bones. "You know, it's true that early bird gets the worm and all, but I think the worm won't be up for another hour," I managed to get out along with a yawn at the same time.

He continued to stoke the young fire, but responded with a stalwart "Good morning!"

Bright eyed and bushy-tailed, I see. I hovered over the area around the fire pit, noticing he had his cooking station laid out already. "So is this like, your thing?" I asked, gesturing to his setup.

Ignis looked up from what he was doing and studied me over his glasses. "I beg your pardon?"

"This is the second morning in a row you've been up before the crack of dawn to make breakfast," I sat in the chair closest to him and balled the cuffs of my grey shirt into fists, hiding them from the chill of zero sunlight.

"Can the other guys not cook for themselves or something?"

With a fire now roaring in the pit, Ignis rose and began preparing breakfast. At first I thought he was ignoring my question, but as he filled a small steel kettle with bottled water he responded. "We all have a purpose in our group. Mine happens to...cover many spectrums, but I do happen to excel at this specifically." He raised a small mug to me. "Coffee?"

 _Oh SWEET PEACHES._ "Yes, yes please," I hummed.

Ignis prepped the coffee over the fire as he readied a batch of oatmeal. My stomach started free-styling in my abdomen as it learned food would be on the way soon. I was stuck on something he said, so I questioned him once more. "What do you mean, everyone has a purpose in your group? So you're not just best buddies on the road trip of a lifetime?"

To my surprise the guy actually cracked a half decent smile in response, a sliver of impossibly white teeth peeking between his lips. "Well technically we had just embarked on a road trip of sorts, yes." He set the pot of oatmeal over the fire to cook and checked the coffee. It wasn't ready. "I must ask, has Noct formally introduced himself to you yet?"

I raised an eyebrow. "I guess?"

"That response says otherwise," He pushed his glasses up with a gloved finger and closed his eyes, thick lashes bunched together. It looked like he was struggling to say what came out next. "Where we are from, Noct is not a regular civilian...He is a prince, heir to the throne of Lucis, where his father currently reigns as king."

It took me a few seconds to digest his words. He was dead serious. "He's a _prince?_ " my eyebrows knotted. "Could have fooled me, he doesn't act like royalty…."

A small hmph escaped through Ignis's lips. "That is an enormous understatement. I've grown up by his side and I have yet to see him fully encompass his role. He has his moments, though a far way to go."

Out of curiosity I asked, "And the others?" nodding my head at the tent.

Ignis checked the coffee again, expertly wafting the steam before removing the kettle from his makeshift placeholder over the fire. "Gladio's family has provided protection service to the crown for several generations, and he's also assisted Noct in his training. Prompto is Noct's schoolmate, and they are very close friends." He poured two cups of coffee. "Apologies but given the circumstances I do not have access to cream, though I do have sugar."

"Just black, please," I replied.

"Ah, very well," He brought me a piping hot cup of coffee, to which I thanked him. I noticed he hadn't added anything to his coffee, either; Good taste. His smug smile must have meant he thought the same. He paced casually around and took a sip, exhaling contently. Sounded like he enjoyed his morning brew as much as I did.

It was still too hot for me to drink so I blew on it, warming my hands. "Noctis said he was on his way to get married when you ended up here."

"That's correct," Ignis bent down to check the oatmeal as he went on. "It's part of a peace treaty between Lucis and Niflheim, the Empire currently in control of Lucis's neighboring province of Tenebrae. Noct is to wed Lunafreya, the Oracle and another descendant of royal blood-"

"Iggy please, stop boring the woman with story time," A gruff voice interjected. Gladio stepped into view, still in a zombified state of half-awareness. He sniffed the air like an animal and grinned. _"Coooofffeeeee."_

As he sauntered over to pour himself a cup, I was still reeling from the information overload that Ignis dropped into my lap. "Sorry, you'll have to explain more when this-" I lifted my mug "-has done it's job. I don't think I kept up with you very well."

"No worries," Ignis replied. "I didn't expect you to."

 _Jeez,_ I thought to myself. _Sassy bitch._ I knew he didn't have ill intentions in his words, but damn.

Once the oatmeal was done Ignis readied everything to be served, and the three of us helped ourselves to another breakfast of mind-blowing oatmeal. Was oatmeal even allowed to be called mind-blowing? It seemed like an oxymoron. I stared into the flames as I ate, still trying to grasp that Noctis, the quiet and lanky, somewhat awkward member of their ensemble was of such high social status. I guess it explained why the other three men looked to him in conversation a lot, and stood in front of him almost instinctively. Gladio was a repeat offender for that, and it made sense now that I realised he was basically a knight to the prince. Excellent choice, if I had to say so myself. Dude was a beast, someone I'd definitely favor in my company late at night in the wrong side of town.

Three became four as Prompto climbed - scratch that, tripped - out of the tent, trying to suavely recover by smoothing his hair. "Good morning, milady," He bowed before me, attempting to mimic Ignis's accent, failing tremendously. "I trust you slept well?"

Ignis did not look impressed as he frowned silently, sipping his coffee.

"Heh," I chuckled with a mouthful of the last of my breakfast, giving the leftover bowl for Dogmeat to gobble up. "Just glad none of you aliens decided to probe me."

Gladio sputtered as he tried to prevent coffee from spewing everywhere while Prompto snickered like a devious schoolboy. Even Ignis seemed amused by my jest, the corners of his mouth tugged upward if even the slightest bit.

Prompto served himself and ate while he paced around the fire. We made small talk, went over our planned route for the day and enjoyed the absolute silence that accompanied the sunrise. At least that was a welcome plus side to the apocalypse; the drone of human activity and overpopulation was nowhere to be heard. It was both pleasant, and ominous.

"Judging by the distance we got yesterday," Gladio was studying the map, using his fingers as units of measurement. "I'd say we got another day's worth of movement ahead of us so we gotta get moving soon."

I noticed Noctis still wasn't up yet. "Uhh, what about Sleeping Beauty?"

"On it!" Prompto instantly bounded into the tent, the flap fluttered and closed behind him. We couldn't tell from outside what happened, but not five seconds later Noctis was a ball of flailing limbs as he abandoned-ship, yelling "Okay okay okay I'm uuuup!", extremely disgruntled. Whatever Prompto did to wake him, it was super effective.

Dogmeat was on him in an instant, lapping at his face and neck, his tail helicoptering excitedly. Prompto emerged from the tent once more. "Got 'em!"

As the last of us to wake up inhaled their breakfast, we made quick work of disassembling the tent, extinguishing the fire and packing up our chairs and other goodies. Gladio thankfully took up being pack mule again without being asked, and we were on the road again before the ass-end of the sun had even grazed the treetops.

* * *

"I need a bath."

Goddammit, Prompto. We didn't need a reminder. I was starting to feel the two-day old grime. A day and a half of walking did not help the situation, though I was thankful for the cooler fall temperatures which made the trip more bearable.

Noctis let out a quiet snort. "Yeah, I'm downwind of you and I couldn't agree more."

We were starting to enter more dangerous territory now, the few irradiated rodents and wildlife we passed were replaced by rabid dogs, hostile robots that shot laser rounds at us, and at one point Gladio spotted a deathclaw hulking into the thicket, luckily a fair distance away. So far we managed to avoid combat altogether, though I doubted we'd get off so easily from thereon in.

As we skirted along the old Charles River, passing the old Beantown Brewery (no wonder that thing survived the bombings, it was built like a brick) my Pip-Boy buzzed two times consecutively. I stopped to check it out. Noctis saw me pause and halted himself, which in turn made the others stop too. "What is it Heather?"

"Huh, new radio signal apparently." I mused, tuning the dials to find the new station. "Military Frequency AF95…"

"Military?" Ignis repeated. "Sounds promising."

I kept turning the dial until the crackle of a voice broke up in snippets. With more precise tuning I caught the perfect frequency and the broadcast came through. The voice was female, and all business:

 _"This is Scribe Haylen of Reconnaissance Squad Gladius to any unit in transmission range. Authorization Arx. Ferrum. Nine. Five. Our unit has sustained casualties and we're running low on supplies. We're requesting support or evac from our position at Cambridge Police Station. Automated message repeating.."_

I looked up from my Pip-Boy, swivelling my head around the area. "Cambridge Police Station..." I asked the group, four pairs of eyes watching me inquisitively. "I know where that is, it's not far from here. Should we check it out?"

Unsurprisingly, the guys looked to Noctis for a decision. "Uhh, sure. Why not?" He replied with a shrug. "Guess they could use our help."

I looked down at my belt warily. "I still don't have any ammo…" My confidence running on empty. At least I still had a knife...Dogmeat looked up at me and let out a single, drawn-out whine.

Prompto sensed my unease and swung an arm around me. "Not to worry, doll! You've got us!"

"Fine, fine," I mumbled, scanning the area again and verifying the location of the police station on my Pip-Boy. "Alright, we'll be heading deeper into the city so the buildings will get more cramped, less open space. Keep your eyes peeled."

"Right," Gladio nodded, and we were on the move again.

According to my Pip-Boy we were only a handful of yards away, but traversing through rubble and general apocalyptic crap slowed us down considerably. We were really out of the bush and into the concrete jungle now, which only added to the mess with car skeletons blocking the road here and there, benches and trash bins flipped over, papers and litter from centuries ago plastered to the debris...

"Your face," Ignis was eyeing me from the side, "You look positively harrowed."

"How can I not be?" I replied, my voice low. "Imagine seeing the city you grew up in, the city you've called home all of your life just...shattered, destroyed. A mess. It's…" I swallowed, "It's hard."

Ignis looked down as we kept walking. "Understandably so. I'm not certain how I would react if-"

All five of us stopped abruptly, Dogmeat growling at the source of our hesitation. Before us, slumped over and against the shattered panel of an old bus shelter, a human body laid at an unnatural angle. It was an hour past dead, but that wasn't the cause for our disturbance. "What...is wrong with it?" I asked, keeping my distance but squinting to focus better. It's skin (what was left of it) was severely mutated and resembled beef jerky, or worn leather soles of shoes that had been set on fire. Hairless, from what we could see hardly any teeth and the eyes reminded me of the same milky whites we saw on the deathclaw. It's clothes and skin marred with scorch marks, the same size and shape that Preston's laser rifle created.

Close to where this dead guy was, another body was discarded face-down on the pavement, red bullet holes pocked it's backside. My nose scrunched up. "are these the ghouls that Preston was talking about?"

"Would fit the description, yes," Ignis responded, unable to look away from them. "At least someone else was kind enough to deal with them for us."

"Probably someone at the police station," I reckoned. "It's just around the corner."

We passed the dead dudes and rounded the corner.

I nearly pissed myself. No less than twenty ghouls stood motionless, scattered around the reinforced panelling that surrounded Cambridge Police Station. They were completely still and silent, their backs to us and zombified.

Looking passed them, up on the front steps off the plateau to the entrance of the station sat a man, injured, a woman tending to his wounds. Her head snapped around, obviously aware of the situation until she caught sight of us. I waved to show her our good intentions; She responded by simply mouthing the word "HELP."

And then it happened, as every ghoul in front of the station turned around at once, surprised to see us.

Our luck had finally ran out.


	10. Fire Support

"Ignis!" Noctis hissed through his teeth. "Instructions!"

The ghouls were still immobile, surveying us as their heads twitched and their solid white eyes made me question if they were looking at me or not. I could _smell them_ , a rank scent combination of partially cooked and rotting meat.

I looked at Ignis, whose eyes were darting back and forth, planning, calculating. When he spoke, he kept his voice very low to not startle the creatures, who remained stationary. "They're sizing us up," he insisted, both hands in tight fists, "We need to attack them from both sides, flank them, and horde them together as tight as we can before we deal a heavy blow."

And not two seconds later, each of them had a weapon in their hands, unsurprisingly appearing from nowhere; Prompto fearlessly twirled his pistol as Gladio flipped his great sword, giving me a mild heart attack as he caught it. Noctis held a similar sword but much shorter in length, while Ignis flexed gloved hands on a pair of daggers.

I gulped. "Think you can abracadabra me something to use?" they made me feel self-conscious.

Ignis carefully backed up to my side, grabbing my upper arm a bit tighter than I would have liked and dragged me backwards, until we were flush against the rusted remnants of a destroyed Corvega. "Stay here, and warn us of any additional threats," He instructed.

I nodded, feeling somewhat useless but I couldn't argue. He returned to the group, just as a ghoul on the left side started shambling forward.

And then they attacked, chaos erupted, the ghouls animating and lunging for them. Their movements like fluid, a well-choreographed dance of death that laid destruction in their wake. Buff and tough Gladio seemed weightless as he catapulted vertically into the air, cleaving his sword down at a harsh angle and obliterating two ghouls at once.

While he was still crouched down from his finishing move, with a running start Noctis stepped lightly on Gladio's back and launched himself forward, flinging his sword like a boomerang and decapitating three of the walking dead, one after the other, _crunch crunch crunch_ of breaking bones and snapping spines. The blade whipped back towards its owner however it was Prompto who caught it by the hilt, tossing his pistol to Noctis in the same motion and sliced sideways as Noctis delivered a head-shot, the recipient dropping like a rock.

Ignis sprinted and slid on his side straight through the space between Gladio's legs, whipped up into a somersault and back-flipped between two ghouls, eviscerating them simultaneously with rogue precision.

It was hypnotising, the way they fought together. A well-oiled machine built to destroy its opponent and anything in the surrounding area. I was in good hands in their company.

They continued fighting until the last one, who had grabbed Noctis from behind and was attempting to separate his head from his shoulders, was knocked off balance from a bullet hole sent between the eyes. He fell backwards and hit the pavement with a smack.

As the last one was finished off they stopped, panting, observing the aftermath of their massacre. Bodies and various limbs were thrown about, innards decorating the pavement in greyish pink clumps. A fantastic tang of gore and rot reeked, stinging my nose and making me gag. At least they were dead.

Ignis bent forward, his hands on his thighs. "That was...unsettling," he breathed.

Prompto whined, looking down disapprovingly at the specs of blood on his jacket and flight suit. "Ewwww, gross! Now I _really_ need a bath, and a change of clothes."

Noctis flicked his nose. "Got some on your face, bud."

"Wait!" Gladio shut them up, his head cocked, listening intently.

I followed suit, sure enough hearing more snarls and footfalls in the distance. Oh fuck.

Gladio hoisted his sword defensively. "We're not done yet! Left side!"

A literal sea of ghouls, easily in the thirty to forty range, swarmed in from the left alcove of the street. _Oh hell,_ I thought, _the first group was a trap!_

The boys took the defensive stance as the wall of ghouls slammed into them, bony hands raking, scratching any exposed skin. They managed to down a good handful, but they just _kept coming._ "We're outnumbered!" Prompto announced, though it was clear to see we were in trouble. I watched from afar nervously, feeling helpless as I held onto my knees. I wanted to help, to run in and go at some of them with my knife, but Gladio swinging that great sword around had me second-guessing if that was a good idea...

"Now what?" Noctis followed, stabbing his sword through one of the ghoul's necks. "We won't be-"

 _WHAM!_

The front door of the police station swung open, smacking into the wall and bounced on it's hinges. A man in power armor stepped out, charging up his laser pistol and unloaded on the monsters, picking them off one by one with honed accuracy and speed. One of the ghouls broke from the crowd and towards the newcomer, but he swatted it effortlessly so it's head slammed into the reinforced panels, splitting and spilling its contents onto the asphalt.

The assault continued but with our new pal joining the fray the bodies dropped faster, the number of ghouls dwindling to single digits as they sliced, stabbed, shot and pummelled the monsters to victory-

OUCH!

Something grabbed my ponytail, hard, slamming my spine and more painfully, the top of my neck, into the Corvega. What the _FUCK-_

I turned my head and screamed bloody murder. A stray ghoul had reached through the open driver's side window of the car and was trying to pull me backwards from the passenger's side. Shit, he was _strong_. My neck strained as I fought to free myself from his grasp, my fingers reaching back in an effort to swat his hands from my hair, but they were locked in. I dug my fingernails into its wrist but it didn't even flinch. The pain was getting worse, my neck preparing to snap as I felt microscopic tears beneath my skin, right where my neck met my shoulders. He gargled excitedly at me, rotten teeth in a fucked-up smile.

I reached for my knife, my shaky hand making it hard to unsheathe from its holster. Once freed I started hacking backwards, the angle awkward though I felt something wet spatter the back of my neck. Still his grasp was firm, he wasn't letting up-

A flash of blue light, and Noctis materialised directly behind the ghoul, felling it with a quick stab to the back of the head. It released it's hold on my ponytail, and slumped against the Corvega, dead.

I gaped back at Noctis through the door of the car, my eyes wide both from the sudden attack and the fact that he just...well, was there. I rubbed my neck, tender soreness setting in. "Noctis, you...you saved my life."

He passed it off sheepishly. "Ah, was nothing-"

I slid over the trunk of the car and hugged him, instantly regretting the gesture as whatever specs of blood and innards stuck to his drifter's clothes transferred to mine. "Thank you thank you _thank you!_ " I squeaked.

"And we're chopped liver?" Prompto asked loudly, as the others approached us. I was happy to see not a single ghoul was left standing. "Wait, you haven't seen Noct warp yet, have you..."

My sigh developed into a low chuckle on the exhale. "I'm two-hundred years older than I should be, I'm travelling with aliens and zombies walk the earth!" I exclaimed, my arms gesturing grandly. "If I keep questioning everything out of the norm I'll have whiplash sooner than later."

"Atta girl," Gladio smirked, his arm flicking upwards as he dismissed his great sword.

"Hold it right there!" a gruff voice boomed behind us.

My heart leaped up and bounced off the roof of my mouth. I had forgotten about our new friend. He had seen everything and so had his comrades on the steps, and my little monologue blew what petty cover remained. Shit...

We turned around to face the man in power armor, who had his laser pistol raised at us. He wasn't wearing his helmet, his short shock of black hair damp with sweat and blood, his face smudged with a combination of the two and more. Dark eyes were wide and brimmed with questions. "What the hell is going on here?" He demanded.

"I can expla-"

"I'm addressing _THEM_ , civilian," the man stopped me, pointing his gun back and forth between my four male companions. Each of them held their hands up in the 'don't shoot' stance. Noctis and I exchanged worried looks.

It was silent for a dangerously long time, before Ignis spoke, very slow and very gingerly. "We do not wish to cause harm, we are here to help. And, we could use your help in return."

The man lowered his voice, but kept his gun raised. "Explain yourselves. What are you? What technology are you utilising? And you're aliens? Is that true? How is that possible?"

Again, Ignis spoke with calculated caution. "We are not from this planet, that is correct."

The man reacted visibly, a squint to his eyes, but he didn't say anything. Ignis continued. "Yes, we have different abilities than your kind, but I promise we are on your side. The last thing we want is to work against you." He closed his eyes. "We want to return to our planet. That is all. I promise."

There was another long pause, the man kept his pistol aimed at the four men. I looked past him, towards the front steps of the police station where the woman crouched next to the injured man, both of their expressions a mess of confusion and shock. Boy, did they get a show.

"Are you with the Institute?" He asked, his jaw set.

Ignis's brow creased. "Beg pardon?"

"Are. You. With. The Institute." The man growled, his voice threatening, fingers hovered over the trigger guard and ready to deplete its payload into our group.

And then, for the first time since meeting the four of them, I saw it. It was a very slight flicker, and only took a second to grace Ignis's pale face. His eyelids flicked and the corners of his mouth twitched.

Fear. He was afraid.

When he responded, his voice cracked slightly. "No."

Seconds passed without development. My heartbeat thudded against my eardrums.

The man dropped his gun to his side, defeated, exhaling nearly tangible weight from his lungs. "No further questions, at ease."

All four of them relaxed, including myself. But it wasn't held long as the injured man on the steps shouted, "What the fuck, Danse?! They could be lying to us for all we know-"

"Knight!" The man in power armor shouted back to him. "Like it or not we are indebted to these people. They provided the fire support we desperately required and they have lifted a hell of a burden from our shoulders. You would not be alive had they turned a blind eye." He looked back to us. "While I have more questions than ever for you and I expect _honest_ answers, I thank you, civilians. We appreciate the backup."

"No sweat," Prompto casually aired. "Happy to help."

The man in power armor saluted to us. "Paladin Danse, officer in command to Recon Squad Gladius, Brotherhood of Steel."

* * *

 _ **First fight scene in the books! It was a quick one, but Heather got to see the boy's fighting style. Next chapter is going to be hard and fast (heh) and will really catapult to the nitty-gritty stuff. I know the chapters have had lots of buildup so far, but we're about to dive in even further.**_


	11. Great Green Jewel

"Now what?"

Prompto had been the first to speak after several silent minutes. The five of us were holed up in the interrogation room of the Cambridge Police Station (I knew it was the interrogation room as I was a rebellious teenager. Okay not really, all I did was steal a mailbox once) After a long discussion with the three Brotherhood members, we had separated ourselves from them to mull over their offer, and to get out of the sun for a spell.

We still hadn't decided if we could fully trust Paladin Danse. The boys had explained their situation as best as they could given the circumstances, and although they nodded as if they understood Scribe Haylen and Danse shared a look that said otherwise. They did offer assurance that they would keep our situation under wraps, so at least that was a plus.

Which lead to their offer, or rather Danse's offer and Knight Rhys's disagreeance. Danse had offered us enrolment in the Brotherhood of Steel, mentioning how he could use new recruits after the casualties his squad had endured as of late. He noted that their "abilities" could benefit them, to which Rhys had called them freaks and flat-out refused to believe we had nothing to do with the Institute.

"Okay, someone please explain to me exactly what the Institute is," I demanded.

Rhys gave a look of disbelief. "Lady, have you been living under a rock or something?"

"Can it, Rhys," Haylen snapped, overtly tightening the tourniquet she was knotting around his bicep, making him wince in response.

A chuckle came out but made me cough. "You could uhh, say that," and I shared my story about the vault, about the bombs falling, about Shaun...about Nate…

In return Haylen gave us the Coles Notes breakdown of the Institute. "They are a secretive organisation whose primary output is synthetic humanoids, or synths as they are more commonly referred to. They have extremely advanced technology at their disposal, and they exist solely to push the limits of humanity. Brain augmentation, cybernetics... " Her face told a disturbing story. "Our primary objective is to locate their base of operations, but no one has ever actually been in the Institute, and if they have they probably never left. Missing persons case? More than likely the Institute was involved."

A shiver skirted the back of my neck. It sounded like propaganda, but regardless I was bothered by her mentioning of missing persons. Could Shaun…? No, stop it Heather. I can't think like that.

Danse frowned, changing the subject back to me. "You must have a wealth of knowledge from before the Great War. Please, at the very least, seriously consider our offer. The Brotherhood could benefit immensely from your aid, and vice versa." He gestured around the room. "Feel free to rest, take all the time you need, but know we're on the clock. Don't expect to make a habitat of this place."

And so we eventually separated from the Brotherhood members to talk privately, though Rhys's prying eyes and ears made an appearance every so often as he limped down the hall and back again. On the plus side, having an established group like the Brotherhood behind our backs would help us survive. Danse had also mentioned access to vertibirds for long-range missions, possibly power armor if we ranked up...There were definite benefits, we couldn't argue that fact. But on the other hand, what kind of agenda would we be liable for? Was there any underlying motive to the Paladin wanting us to join so badly? Were they more interested turning my four friends into test subjects, and conducting strange experiments on them?

"Yo," Prompto chimed in again. "Anyone home?"

I blinked, Prompto's hand waving in front of my face as if I were out to lunch. I noticed each of them were looking at me, anticipating an answer. Dammit, why me? "I don't know, guys," I said, picking at a hangnail."I don't think it's a great idea. You guys have to get back to your planet, right?"

I got up from the three-legged chair I was balanced in, pacing the room until I came to rest against the cracked one-way mirror, the marred reflection giving everything a choppy glint. "Who's to say they'll let you leave at all?"

Noctis leaned against the wall beside me. "They might be able to help us though, the paladin said they have lots of technology."

"Mostly pre-war technology, of which does not include devices that can teleport you to other worlds." I corrected him. I comically imagined them worshipping a toaster like a deity.

"Fair enough, but they have weapons," Gladio added, "and numbers, from what it sounds like. We'd be safer with them than out in the open and with fewer bodies."

Prompto made his pistol appear and buffed at it using the lining of his jacket. "As long as we stay away from that Rhys dude, he seems shady."

At least Ignis was in agreeance with me. "While they may have an arsenal of weaponry and defensive benefits at their disposal, I sense they have several skeletons in their closet." He rubbed a temple, pensively. "Perhaps we tuck their offer in our back pocket and consider it in time of distress."

We looked around at each other searching for a response. Eventually, slow nods spread to each of us as we mulled over Ignis's proposal. I patted my jeans. "Alright then, let's give them our suggestion."

As we filed out of the interrogation room and down the short hallway that connected to the foyer, I paused at the boarded up window frame and checked outside through a small crevice, the sunlight blinding me temporarily as I squinted through. Noctis stopped too, levelling with me to check out the same crack as he scanned the front of the police station. "Any sign of him?" he asked.

I frowned. "No."

Just as suddenly as he had shown up, Dogmeat had taken off during the fight with the ghouls, I assumed. I was admittedly more upset about it than I should have been, selfish as it may be. He technically wasn't my pet, and I couldn't claim him as such if he did have an actual owner. As long as he was safe, then no harm done I supposed.

Danse's voice trailed up the hall as Noctis and I rejoined the group. Gladio had already told the three soldiers about our plans. "Understood, then the offer will remain should you decide to join our cause. We are stationed here until further order from the Elder. Find us here if you change your mind, otherwise we will revise our broadcast to provide you with new coordinates."

I thanked the paladin for his offer. "We appreciate it, really. And thank you for keeping my friends on the down-low."

Danse cleared his throat. "You are most welcome, and thanks again for your support earlier." He gave us a proud salute, fist over chest, just as I had seen Nate mimic many, many times. " _Ad Victoriam_ , comrades."

* * *

Crossing the bridge to the former downtown portion of Boston was no easy feat. A pack of wild dogs had taken shelter under the initial rise of the bridge, which spooked us well enough to enforce watching our backs for the next while. As we hit the apex of our crossing, two people arguing on the other side made us crouch down and behind the mast of a wrecked Navy tugboat, which had almost split the bridge in two, several hairs away from dividing. Considering they had shot and killed a random man, for no apparent reason at all, I had to assume they were raiders. Well, that and they were fighting over who got to keep his hat. Poor guy.

When the coast was clear we continued on, though with greater foresight as after we cleared the bridge not only was the sun starting to set, but the sound of occasional gunshots became ambient noise, ringing both very far off in the distance and an uncomfortable few yards away. So this was status quo now? Would we have to kill or be killed by other people?

Jesus. This lifestyle was going to give me even more greys. It made me actually miss potluck Wednesdays with the Able's, the most boring couple on the face of the earth. I'd sooner force-feed myself a lifetime's supply of their green-bean casserole -

"I miss the CAR," Prompto complained, interrupting my internal protest. "So tired, of walking!"

He had me there. My thighs started chafing ages ago. Mental note: two-century old denim is not the best choice for end of the world travel. I fiddled with my Pip-Boy, scanning the map for approximation. "Well, we're apparently very close to this Diamond City place," I announced, but looked around for landmarks indicating a city, or civilisation at least. It wasn't easy in near darkness.

From what I could make out, I recognised the area as the thoroughfare that lead to Fenway Park, the famous baseball stadium in the city. Gosh, how many memories had been made there back when Nate and I were dating? Oh, how I could go for one of their ballpark hot dogs, or the nachos that never crunched no matter how fresh you got them. Games were cheap and a common date night after work for Nate and I. He always said he'd catch a ball, someday…

I realised then, looking at my map, that Diamond City was located right where the Fenway Park should be. I could even see the sheet-metal walls from where we were. "Huh. I think Diamond City is in the old baseball stadium."

Sure enough, I could faintly make out 'DIAMOND CITY' painted in bold white letters slapped over an old Nuka Cola billboard, with a big fat arrow pointing in the direction we were heading. We were close.

I also noticed four faces were gaping at me, blankly. Oh right, Aliens. "Uhh, baseball is a sport? You do know what sports are, right?"

"Yeah, yeah," Gladio scoffed, holding back a laugh. That actually surprised me to a degree. I was still reeling from the fact that they could speak perfect English. I wondered if anyone would eventually address _that_ elephant in the proverbial room. "How do you play?"

"A pitcher throws a ball and you hit it with a bat." I explained, even making the swinging motion for their entertainment.

Ignis raised an eyebrow. "That doesn't sound like much of a sport at all."

I pursed my lips. "Well, it's not that simple. I just gave you the basic premise of it. There's four bases you have to pass, and if you get a home run-"

"What do you mean you can't open the gate?" A stranger's voice, female, and very near. "Stop playing around, Danny!"

We stopped, deer in headlights as we listened to the stranger, who sounded to be right behind the solid metal fence on our left. We scuttered quietly next to it and listened.

She sounded royally pissed. "I'm standing out here in the open, for crying out loud!"

A voice crackled over an intercom system, most likely Danny as my detective skills determined. "I got orders to not let you in, Miss Piper. I'm sorry, I'm just doing my job." He pleaded with her for reason.

Piper, eh? Alrighty, then. She responded to him, her voice becoming animated. "Just doing your JOB? Protecting Diamond City means keeping me out, is that it?! Oooooh look, it's the scary reporter. BOO!"

Prompto gave me crazy eyes. "Chick sounds like she's lost her marbles."

"Shh," I hushed him, swatting my hand at him while trying to peek around the metal fence. I couldn't see a thing at my angle without risking getting caught. Danny's voice crunched over the speaker again. "I'm sorry, but Mayor McDonough's really steamed, Piper. Sayin' that article you wrote was all lies. The whole city's in a tizzy."

This Piper chick was full of piss and vinegar. "Arrghh!" She growled loudly, menacing through clenched teeth, "You open this gate right now, Danny Sullivan! I live here! You can't just lock me out!"

I decided she wasn't about to shoot us, so I opted to duck out from behind the fence much to the protest of Gladio, and not three paces around the side there she was, standing before what I assumed was the front gate to the city/stadium. Wearing an...interesting outfit of tattered red leather jacket and newsboy cap, the tall woman (not saying much, everyone is tall to me) didn't jump as I did, but instead she hunched down a bit, as if a grand scheme landed on her shoulders and I was the lucky randomly-selected audience member. "Hey, you. You want into Diamond City, right?"

Oh boy, here we go. "Uhh, yes? Who are you?"

"Shh," she hushed me. "Play along."

Piper leaned towards the speaker, raising her voice. "What was that? You said you're a trader from Quincy? You have enough supplies to keep the general store stocked for a whole month?! Huh."

Quick on her feet, I had to hand it to her. She continued. "You hear that, Danny? You gonna open the gate and let us in? Or are you gonna be the one talking to crazy Myrna about losing all this supply?"

"Jeez, alright," Danny responded over the speaker. Well shit, we were in luck. "No need to make it personal, Piper. Give me a minute."

A second later the giant gate jolted, shaking on its joints before it slowly started to hoist upwards. Piper leaned in. "Better head inside quick before ole' Danny catches on to the bluff."

I gave her a sheepish look. "Actually, I'm not alone. Excuse me."

Ducking my head back around metal fence, the four boys looked at me, almost dumbfoundedly. Christ, they were going to be the death of me I swear...I motioned for them to follow and they did, Piper's eyes widening a tad at my posse. "Hmph, 'spose they could pass for caravan guards," she mused, as the gate lifted high enough for us to walk through. Sure enough, we had a welcoming party.

At least, a party of one. A middle-aged man in a far-past middle-aged suit was quick to berate the tall brunette. "Piper! Who let you back inside? I thought I told Sullivan to keep that gate shut!"

My friends and I hung back as Piper strolled through the turnstiles, walking confidently as if she owned the place. The man continued his banter towards Piper, though it looked to be falling on deaf ears. "You devious, rabble-rousing slanderer! The...the level of dishonesty in that paper of yours!" He shook a white-knuckled fist at her. "I'll have that printer scrapped for parts!"

This time Piper did react, her hands waving about. "Oooh, that a statement, Mr. McDonough? _'Tyrant Mayor shuts down The Press'_?"

Like five obnoxious flies on the wall, we hung back and watched them banter until Piper turned to us. "Why don't we ask the newcomers? You support the news? 'Cause the mayor's threatening to throw free speech in the dumpster!"

A second passed and we realised she was seriously jamming us between a rock and a hard place. Eyes darting back and forth, shrugging, we all answered at once:

"Sure?"

"I guess, maybe?"

"Why does it matter?"

"Don't really care to be honest."

"What newspaper are you talking about?"

Piper responded to my question. "Mine. _Publick Occurrences_ , and we're the hard look at the truth. So, are you with us or not?"

She was looking at me for a response. Dammit! Why'd I always have to be the one driving the bus?

I weighed our options. By siding with Piper we risked ending up on the mayor's bad side, or get kicked out of the city. Then again, had it not be for her we wouldn't have gotten inside in the first place…

Exhaling, I opted to be honest. "Always believed in freedom of the press."

Mayor McDonough jutted sideways, his hands out in response. I realised it was the first time he acknowledged our presence. "Oh! I didn't mean to bring you into this argument, miss. No no no…" He gave me the ol' up and down flick of the eyes, thoroughly creeping me out. "You look like Diamond City material."

Gladio stepped in front of me, rolling his shoulders, one-hundred percent on the defence. "The _hell_ is that supposed to mean?" He asked gruffly, looming over the mayor.

McDonough stepped back, his dodgy eyebrows upwards. "Hey easy there, friend. Everyone has potential in Diamond City! The Great Green Jewel of the Commonwealth." He composed himself, though kept his distance from Gladio.

Piper scoffed loudly. "You're full of it, McDonough. Stop trying to swindle these poor people into your agenda."

The mayor continued his sales pitch. "Safe, happy, a fine place to come spend your money, and settle down." He jammed a thumb towards Piper. "Don't let this mukraker here tell you otherwise, all right?"

Ignis cleared his throat, heads cocking in his direction. "This hasn't been the friendliest welcome."

"He's got you there, McDonough," Piper replied. Her thick eyebrows bounced with her tone. "Guess not everyone gets won over by that shark smile of yours-"

"Ahem!" The mayor coughed to interrupt the woman and turned back to me. "Was there anything in particular that you came to our city for?"

While it would be in our best interest to be honest with the mayor, my gut told a different story. I replied, but kept the details vague. "We're looking for someone. Who would I have to see about a missing person?"

"Whatever you do, don't count on our security," Piper noted, shooting McDonough a seething glare. Jesus, these two really had it out for one another didn't they?

McDonough was quick to dismiss Piper's advice. "Oh don't listen to her. While I am afraid our security team can't follow every case that comes through, I'm confident you can find help here." He straightened his tie. "One of our great citizens can surely find the time to help you."

Oh for Pete's sake. I saw it in his shrewd eyes; he _knew_ , and he knew that I knew. I wasn't proud of my next move, but such was this new lifestyle I guess. Internally groaning, I put on my coyest face possible, lowered my chin and looked up at him through my lashes. "A mayor of a great city must know everyone," I purred, coaxing with my voice smoothly, feeling twice as gross as not showering in a couple days. It was working, though; the mayor adjusted his tie, loosening it, his double-chin lifting and lowering with his gulp. Someone, though I couldn't place who, let out a tiny "woah."

I felt several eyes on me, but continued my persuasion. "So, who can help me?"

It worked. McDonough swallowed, stuttering his words at first. "W-well err, there's this one private citizen. Nick Valentine. He's a...detective of sorts. He specializes in tracking people down, for debts and whatnot." He started turning to leave, and began with a farewell offering. "Now I must be-"

"This is ridiculous!" Piper sighed heavily as she ground her boot in the dirt. "I want the truth, McDonough. What's the real reason security always shrivels away when talk of missing persons comes up?"

The mayor inhaled sharply and raised his voice at the reporter, a vein jutting from his neck. "Enough of this, Piper! From now on, consider you and that little sister of yours on notice."

As he turned his back to us, Piper replied, though it did not merit a healthy response from the mayor. "Yeah, keep talking McDonough, that's all you're good for!"

A quick 'hmmph' and then he was out of sight, having taken the stairs to the lower grounds. Piper gave me a winning grin. "I'm impressed, the mayor doesn't typically give out info that easily."

"Uhh, you saw the look she gave him, right?" said Prompto, attempting to zip his jacket up but the clasp broke mid-zip and fell to the ground at his feet. He kicked it to the side. "If looks could kill…"

Piper started in the same direction McDonough had left in, motioning us to follow her. "Right this way, folks! I'll have to give you the grand tour, that is if you're not ready to crash right away."

"Sure thing," Noctis replied. "Feel like buying us dinner?"

"You're bold, kid!" The reporter raised her eyebrows.

While one by one our group started to follow Piper into the stadium, something felt off. I could still feel eyes on me…

Ignis. He hadn't moved initially when the group started leaving, remaining at my right side, but the second my eyes landed on him he animated, walking past me with long strides to catch up with everyone else. It took only a second, but I saw it; he was giving me the same inquisitive look as he did the first night we spent in Sanctuary as a group, across from the fire pit. What was he looking for? I would have imagined him to be the type to outright ask if he had a question for me, but this was becoming too intrusive.

I decided I would confront him about it, and soon, as I passed through the metal door and descended the steps into Diamond City.


	12. Caps

Diamond City was not what I expected.

As we trailed behind Piper down the wrought-iron steps and into the lower bowl of the baseball stadium, my immediate thought was 'cluttered'. The central area served obviously as the market, with makeshift shops skirting the perimeter slapped together with old signage and metal clapboard. Smack-dab in the middle of said main square was a red-top esque tented area, a steam pipe billowing a healthy puff of clouds up and into the pitch sky above. The stadium lighting did it's best to illuminate the entire area but struggled as it was several bulbs short of the job, though it was made up for in the tacky neon light signs and Christmas lights strung up every here or there.

It was impressive, all things considered. Had I not noticed the stadium box seats above I probably would have forgotten we were in Fenway Park.

"Unfortunately for you latecomers the shops are starting to close up for the night," Piper said over her shoulder as we passed by a barber shop, the owner tucking a chair behind a counter and slapping a painted sign that read "CLOSED" against a cabinet. She looked back and forth. "Would be a better idea to give you the grand tour tomorrow morning, when everything's open and the sun's up. This lighting is something else."

Gladio fell into step beside Piper. "So, we bunking with you doll?" he asked in a sly tone, wiggling his thick eyebrows suggestively.

Piper responded by smacking his bicep. "You dog! No you ain't! You can grab a room at the Dugout, shouldn't be too many caps."

"Caps?" I repeated.

Piper nearly skidded to a stop with an incredulous look. "Oh c'mon, you're broke? Woahwoahwoah now don't expect to mooch off me-"

I put my hands up defensively. "I was just asking what you meant. Why do we need caps? What are you talking about?"

Her brown eyes bulged in response, darting back and forth between me and the guys. When she realized we were serious, she shook her head and groaned. "You need caps to buy things…? How do you not know this? Did you hatch yesterday?"

Understatement of the Century. "You could say that. I'm from a vault, and I was born before the war."

The reporter's lips parted and her mouth hung slightly agape. Her voice was two notches higher than I cared for. "You're over two hundred years old?! How are you _still alive?_ "

Of course a few bystanders and two men in armored baseball uniforms (security guards?) had overheard, necks craned in my direction and strangers looking me over. I felt vulnerable but knew I'd have to get over it eventually. Also, better me than my friends be put in the spotlight; My problems in comparison were small potatoes.

Realizing Piper was expecting an answer, I took a deep breath. "I was cryogenically frozen and woke up a couple days ago. Forgive me if I don't know the ins and outs, let alone the current form of currency."

"Well I figured something was up by your handy-dandy wristwatch," Piper tapped a finger against her arm coolly. "But wasn't sure if you just happened to scav' it off some poor son of a bitch in the Commonwealth." She paused, her eyes thoughtful. "You know, I think this would make for a hell of an article. After you found your missing person, stop by my office. I'd kill for an interview, and these" - she gestured around us to the few onlookers, who seemed offended by her action - " _wonderful_ Diamond City patrons would certainly enjoy reading your story in the next issue of Publick Occurrences."

I shrugged. "I'll consider it, but we really need to discuss-"

In a blink she whipped an object at us, to which Prompto's lightning reflexes caught it. Before he could check out the contents of the small sack, Piper explained. "I wouldn't leave you hanging, kiddo. Consider it a loan, and token of appreciation for your help back there. Should be enough for ehh, two rooms and a Takahashi special. May want to use the rest to get yourselves some firepower though."

Prompto jiggled the pouch and a healthy tinkering sound resonated. He opened it and took something out, eyeing it over between his index and thumb. It was a Nuka Cola bottle cap, the red paint chipped and hammered flat like a coin. Interesting. "Thanks, lady! We'll pay you back, once we find out how to get more of these."

"Just ask around, everyone has a job that needs to be done. It's not hard to make a cap around here." Piper smirked and backed away from us, pointing to a small stall near the steps into the stadium. "That's the press office. Drop by tomorrow, If I'm not around my sister Nat will be."

"Will do," Noctis nodded at her, and then she left the group, the onlookers scattering one after another.

I checked my Pip-Boy for the time. 9:21pm. "It's already pretty late," chewing my lip, I looked up and scanned the market area. "Where did she say the inn was?"

Gladio was still looking in the direction Piper left in. "She didn't."

Awesome. I groaned. "Alright, I guess we ask around then?"

All except two shops were open at this point, oddly enough both run by robots. Hopefully they were friendly robots. The closest one was working behind what looked like a soup counter as it tended to a pot on a stove while a single customer sat hunched over their food, eating. Above the booth an eyesore of fluorescent orange neon sign blinked _POWER NOODLES_ in tacky font. Something smelled appetizing and my stomach gnawed audibly in response. "Scratch that, I need food first."

I paced the few steps over and took a seat at the booth, my four pals joining me though poor Gladio had to stand awkwardly at the corner of the counter top as there were no more stools available. We were so cramped our elbows touched but no one made protest. I hailed the robot, who had it's back (I think?) facing us as he stirred the stockpot. Slowly it turned around with a wooden ladle clutched in its three-pronged grip. " _Nan-ni shimasho-ka?_ "

"Come again?" I asked, my uncultured tongue not understanding though I could tell it was speaking Japanese.

" _Nan-ni shimasho-ka?_ "

The stranger beside us seemed wholeheartedly amused behind his dark aviators. Fuck, he looked ridiculous. The sun had gone down hours ago. He spoke before shoveling noodles into his mouth. "Just say yes, Takahashi's a one-trick pony. Won't say anything else."

On que, the robot repeated himself. " _Nan-ni shimasho-ka?_ "

"Yes," I responded, and the robot expertly slid five empty bowls in a line down the counter before tossing a ladle-full of steaming-hot noodles and clear broth into each one and topping them neatly with a pair of ancient steel chopsticks. The steam hit my nose; it smelled phenomenal, and spicy. "Thank you," I responded out of habit before I realized he didn't understand.

When he was done he stopped, again monotonously said, " _Nan-ni shimasho-ka?_ " but did not move. The heck?

I turned back to the stranger next to us with an eyebrow cocked in question. He smiled. "He's waiting for you to pay him."

"Oh, right," I replied sheepishly as Prompto counted out the required caps and dropped them into the small dish labelled 'CAPS GO HERE', and we dug in. At first I was skeptical how they would taste but it was pretty good, if not a bit on the stale and salty side. No one else seemed to mind as Prompto and Noctis finished in record time, Gladio slurping the leftover soup from the bowl when his noodles were gone. Only Ignis and I seemed to eat at a normal pace.

We were both halfway through our serving when Noctis folded his arms on the counter, resting his face in them so that only his spiky black hair was exposed. Prompto yawned next to me, stretching upwards and nearly whacking the back of my head in doing so. "Yeah, I'm tired too buddy."

Gladio patted Noctis on the shoulder, shaking him though he was already awake. "Come on, sleepyhead. We gotta find that inn."

Ever the helpful presence this evening, the stranger next to us piped up. "The Dugout? I'm heading there myself, if you wanna tag along."

I still wasn't close to finishing my food, so I declined the offer. "Plus I'm not that tired yet," I lied. Truth be told I was looking forward to some alone time and I hoped they could catch onto that.

Unfortunately Ignis wasn't picking up on the hints I was dropping. "I too will have to retire later on, I've barely put a dent in my dish."

The ridiculously suggestive looks from Gladio, Noctis and Prompto in response were pathetic to say the least. Even worse, Ignis decided he would grab the now vacant seat next to mine which only added fuel to the fire as Prompto howled and cat-called behind him. Noctis promised to let the front desk know we would be coming in late as they left with the stranger. I scowled into my bowl, silently wishing Ignis had gone with them too. It was annoying me to a small extent, and I could swear he had exactly the same amount of noodles left in his bowl as I did in mine…

Unexpectedly he set his chopsticks down in two vertical lines before dropping his head into his hands, fingers massaging temples under the arms of his glasses. He looked years older and more stressed than I could recall over the past couple of days. He inhaled sharply through tight lips. "Sorry. I'm not certain how much more of this I can take."

"Pardon me?" I asked, wondering what could have been causing him so much trouble.

He looked up but not at me, an empty gaze straight ahead. His accented voice was soft though it weighed bricks on my brain. "It is part of who I am and my position to ask questions when something doesn't seem right. Most of the time I am able to find answers myself, or I can consult someone who can provide direction, but I believe it is safe to say this entire situation is unique." His eyes shut and didn't open as he continued. "I often wonder if we can even return to Eos at all or if this is irreversible. And…" he turned his head to face me, eyes still closed, "It bothers me that I seem to be the only one who is concerned about it."

Holy crow. As I fidgeted with my chopsticks against the edge of the bowl, I realized now why he stuck behind; the cool, composed young man needed to _vent._ Did he not trust his friends enough to decompress to them like this? Why me? Despite having conversed and camped with the four men over the past couple days, they were still for the most part strangers.

I should have focused on something else in my thoughts. When his lids parted, the jade orbs behind them held contact with mine and didn't flick away, but then again neither did mine. I don't know why, but I found myself intrigued by what I saw in them; determination, steadfast and resolute, but there was something else. Uncertainty? Trepidation? I felt a tug as I stared past his thick, dark lashes...

Okay. Too much. I blinked and exhaled quickly, covering it up with a cough as I fiddled with my chopsticks again. My ears were getting hot. I had to speak. "Look, I know it's not the best of circumstances, but I'm really thankful to be travelling with all of you. I feel safer and a little less like I'm losing my mind." I looked up at him again, this time I couldn't make eye contact so I just focused on the metal rim of his glasses. "If I miraculously find a way to get you guys back to your home, I'll help you out. I promise that."

The corners of his mouth twitched up in a sincere smile. "I trust you would. Thank you, Heather."

 _So intense,_ I thought as I slurped another mouthful of noodles. We were silent as we polished off our bowls, the ambient sounds of the city lulling the leaning tension between us. I yawned; sleep was beckoning me bigtime.

"So, you mentioned previously this was a stadium?" Ignis asked out of the blue.

"Oh yeah," I slid my empty bowl towards Takahashi, who clanked it in his metal tong hands as he took both of our dishes. "A baseball stadium. Home to the Red Sox, though they weren't really good. The games were cheap and it got us out of the house. Plus it was Nate's favorite sport." Saying his name made my heart pang.

Ignis noticed. "Your husband." It wasn't a question, but I nodded in response.

He shifted in his seat so his body was more inclined towards me. "What was his occupation, if you don't mind sharing?"

"Don't mind at all," Though I did wonder why he was asking. "He was in the military, was honorably discharged at the rank of Corporal at his term end. If he had more control of what he did, he would have been an editor."

"And yourself? What did you do?"

What is this, twenty questions? I played nice, though. "I was working towards being a lawyer, myself. Oh, you probably don't know what that is…?"

Ignis frowned. "A lawyer? Yes of course I know what a lawyer is, they-"

"What do you _MEAN_ of course?" I interrupted him. "Sometimes I forget you guys are from another planet! You speak English, look like normal human beings and don't drive a spaceship. Besides being weapon magicians and dressing differently no one would think you're from a different world..."

"It _is_ rather peculiar, I've noticed the similarities as well," Ignis thumbed his chin thoughtfully. "I wonder how that's possible. It can't be a coincidence...And not to mention, how we are surviving just fine in this atmosphere."

"Huh," I never considered that factor. "Guess you were hella lucky to have dropped ship on this pathetic rock."

"I wouldn't call it pathetic, perhaps an unfortunate victim of circumstance."

I frowned. "You're right. We killed the earth." I tried to lighten the mood. "I suppose it'll be a long time before I can do anything normal again, like…" I searched the area for inspiration. An old fast-food advertisement sign caught my eye. "Like I dunno, grabbing a cheeseburger at the drive thru."

"I can't recall the last time I had a decent burger."

Say what? My head perked up. "You know what a burger is?! Oh that's amazing. I wish I had access to a working stove and sanitary conditions, I could blow your mind with my own recipe."

Ignis chuckled softly. "While I'd appreciate the gesture I can assure you mine would be far superior."

My mouth dropped. "Excuse me? I beg to differ, sir. I'm no _chef extraordinaire_ like yourself but I do have my masterpieces."

His responding grin was challenging. "It's settled then, we shall have a cook-off at the next opportune moment."

I felt almost fine for the first time in the last few days. "Okay, what about cake? Do you know what that is?"

Ignis nodded. "Perhaps you know what cheesecake is?"

"Are you kidding? I am practically fifty-percent cheesecake. What about pizza?"

"Yes. I like mine topped with basil and pancetta." Oh damn, that sounded delicious.

"Oooh, what about ice cream?"

"Are we only discussing food items?" He asked, eyebrow cocked above his glasses.

"For now, sure. Let's go until we reach something the other doesn't know." This was too fun. "Tomato soup."

"Yes. Scrambled eggs?"

"Mhm. Chocolate?"

"Yes."

"Your planet doesn't suck. Nice!" I laughed.

As we continued on into the night far past our bedtime, the thought of sleep did not cross my mind again.

* * *

 _ **Later than I expected but another chapter in the books. Not an overly exciting one but I was having some trouble writing this past week. Still I hope you enjoyed and as always thank you for reading. :)**_


	13. Valentine's Detective Agency

It felt great to wake up on a proper bed for the first time in a while, albeit a smelly one. Anything off the ground was a better choice in my books.

A sliver of early morning peeked through my boarded up window frame, and I was glad the sun beat me to waking up today. I stretched, rose from the bare mattress and rubbed my face. Could have used more sleep, but then again I did turn in past midnight.

Remembering that I was previously informed there was a working shower in my room, I undressed myself and folded my clothes on the bed, walked into the bathroom and...ehhh.

I had to start expecting less of this new life. The bathroom was definitely circa two-hundred years ago, though it was clean as clean could be despite the tiles needing to be re-grouted or replaced. I waited a stupid amount of time for the water to turn warm, but it never did. Somehow I wasn't surprised. Cold shower it is. At least I was used to them after the many hot flashes I got whilst pregnant with Shaun. An ancient wafer of hotel soap wrapped in yellowed paper was my only cleaning apparatus, so I used it to it's fullest potential until my skin was numb and my hair was screaming for conditioner. Too bad, so sad I thought. I stepped out, dried myself on the (thankfully) black towel and tossed my damp hair in a ponytail.

It was good to be clean, or at least as clean as possible. My skin felt tight from the old soap and I was surprised it still had some soap-smell left to it. As I dressed myself, the conversation with Ignis from the night before dotted my mind;

 _"You can't sit here and tell me you don't know what marshmallows are."_

 _"Haven't a clue, honest."_

 _"But they're just, sugar and gelatin! I mean come on, dude!"_

 _"Yes but let's remember you didn't believe a flan could be either a dessert or a daemon where I'm from."_

 _"That still bothers me. Is it easy to confuse the two? I don't imagine that ending well."_

 _Ignis let out a soft chuckle. "No, the two are quite distinct." He leaned closer to look at my Pip-Boy. "Goodness, it's getting rather late, apologies for keeping you up."_

 _I looked down as well. 11:43pm. We had been talking for a couple hours straight, our little back-and-forth game often branching off into small-talk and back again. It had been the most carefree I felt since waking up in the vault, but reality was waiting to claim me at the threshold. "You're right, guess time flies when you're having fun right?"_

 _"Indeed, it does," he nodded as I looked up. Again with the intense look, like my face was a chessboard and he was pondering his next move, weighing the odds and mapping the outcome. I don't know if it was due to the lighthearted conversing or that I had relaxed around him more, but the words came out before I had a chance to mentally proofread: "did I piss you off or something?"_

 _His mousy-brown arches creased in response. "Not at all, what would give you that impression?"_

 _I sighed. "I dunno, you've just been giving me these looks and it's been getting to me is all. Sorry, didn't mean to sound rude, just telling it as it is."_

 _He ran his digits back and forth across his forehead and was quiet for several seconds. Immediately I regretted saying anything; Making it weird: Success. Great. Just as I opened my mouth to apologize further, he spoke. "Do you recall what that elderly woman had said, back when we first met?"_

 _Yeah, I remembered all right. Probably not the same way as he did though. "Mama Murphy is both off her rocker and a drug addict. You can't trust a word she says as gospel, don't let it get to you."_

 _He frowned. "I'm not one to praise fanatics, but what she said had a lasting impact on my psyche. About the 'darkness', I...I believe she knows something. It does make sense, if you'll allow me to explain."_

 _"Shoot."_

 _His eyes focused on the counter top as he continued. "Back on our home planet, the days are becoming shorter and the nights are becoming longer. From one day to the next you may not notice it, however from what I remember as a child compared to the present, it's a considerable real problem occurs when the sun goes down; Daemons roam wild at nighttime. As you can imagine, more nighttime, more daemon presence."_

 _I thumbed my shirt sleeve as I tried to imagine his reality. It sounded like a mythological tale straight out of Nate's fantasy novels he read back in high school, or something along those lines. To live it everyday? "Wow. My life up until this point seems so ordinary compared to yours."_

 _"Is but the only life we have known, so I can't say otherwise." The young man cracked his neck. "And don't sell yourself short. There must be something out of the ordinary compared to our lives."_

 _I thought about it. "No, not really. The only true daemons that existed in my time were people, to put it bluntly."_

 _"Bad people exist in all places, I suppose." His grim remark left us in silence as I nodded slowly._

 _I noticed he still hadn't answered my question. "So how does that explain the strange looks?" I asked, slightly nervous._

 _"Her eyes were on_ you _when she spoke."_

 _I frowned. "I see…" I really didn't, but knowing I had overstepped my boundaries enough for the night I didn't press for more of a response._

 _He glanced back and forth at our surroundings. After a long pause, he sighed before changing the subject back to earlier discussion. "It's reassuring though, to see people striving here for some normalcy of day to day life, no matter what the circumstances. It makes me wonder how people on Eos would react if our daylight were to disappear entirely. I dreamt about it before, about the night coming and daylight ceasing to appear." He looked at me, knowledge beyond his years in his eyes. "Shortly after I had met Noct, to be precise. I was very young, a child. And yet, that dream still haunts me to this day."_

 _"No wonder," I replied, my throat arid and cracking my words._

 _Another long pause between us. I wanted to speak, but he looked as though he were in deep thought with himself so I kept quiet. I pondered if given the choice, living in a world of night with daemons and monsters roaming freely, or the world as I knew it now. Neither world carried the normal life I expected to have since before I could remember. Neither were ideal, or safe._

 _Neither had Nate._

 _Shaun…_

 _"Is something the matter?" Ignis's elegant voice brought me out of my spiraling thoughts. I cleared my throat. "Yeah, sorry. Just thinking of my family."_

 _He understood. "We should get some rest, so we can locate that detective in the morning. I have a feeling he could prove to be useful in our search."_

 _I had a feeling this wasn't going to be easy._

I left my room and noticed the door to the adjacent room where the four guys were staying was open a crack, so I peeked inside. It was empty, save for their pack of supplies and what looked to be a camera bag. I closed the door and headed to the entrance, passed the bar as one of the Bobrov twins wolf-whistled while my back was turned. Ignoring it, I left the Dugout.

A handful of patrons were about here and there but not all of the shops had opened yet. The barber was arguing with a middle-aged man in an old duster. I guess clipping someone's ear wasn't common practice so I made mental note to not see him about a trim anytime soon.

Sure enough Piper was at the Publik Occurrences press "office", leaning against the metal frame of the booth and talking to a much younger girl who was clutching a stack of papers. Her sister, if I had to guess. I approached and tipped my imaginary hat to them. "Good day," though my rasp voice did not match the light tone I tried to convey so it felt awkward. "Is business booming?"

Piper's little sister snorted. "There's a kid running the press. You tell me, lady."

Sharp kid. Piper gave her sister a playful tousle of her hair. "You brat, keep it up and I'll hire Sheffield in your place! Now sell some papers. Morning! Don't tell me you blew through your caps last night, you'll need enough to buy yourself some firepower, Blue."

I looked around me. Yep, only one standing here. "Beg pardon?" I asked the reporter.

"Well, you're a vault dweller and I'll bet you looked _real spiffy_ in that getup," Piper winked at me sarcastically. "Should have kept it! Blue is totally your color."

"I'll pass. Hey, have any of my friends shown up yet?"

"Only saw the one with the guns." Prompto? How could-

Piper flexed in response. Oh, _those_ guns. Gladio. "He was by earlier, haven't seen the other ones." Piper adjusted her newsboy cap. "And hey, if I can't call you Blue, then what _do_ I call you, or are you still waiting on introducing yourself?"

I gasped. "Oh my gosh, I'm sorry!" Yep, that was going straight to my cheeks as I felt the heat radiate from my face. "It's Heather. Sorry, that was completely rude of me. I guess this new, rough world is straining basic manners…"

Piper chuckled. "How do you think _I_ feel? I tossed a few hundred caps at strangers last night."

"Fair enough. Thanks again for that, by the way."

"Morning, ladies!"

I pivoted around. My four companions were approaching us, Prompto waving as if he were hailing a taxi, his damp hair bouncing with his stride. They all had damp hair, it looked like. I instantly felt so sorry for the sad little bar of soap that had to be shared between four men. "There you are! Sleep well?" Prompto asked with a grin on his face. Was an inside joke going over my head? Who knows.

"I did sleep well, thanks. It was nice to not sleep on the dirt." Then I realized something, a grin slowly creeping across my lips. "You four slept in a room with one bed last night. That's interesting."

Prompto was on the defensive real quick. "Uhhh well, there was a sofa too, and Gladio took the floor when Ignis got back. Though we thought he was gonna bunk with-"

Noctis smacked the back of Prompto's head and gave him a dude-shut-your-trap glare. No, more of a her-husband-just-died-and-you're-being-insensitive glare. Everyone else saw it too and it was on the verge of awkward. I changed the subject to more pressing matters. "Piper, could you point us in the direction of the detective's office?"

"Oh right, Valentine's agency. Right over here!"

We followed her to the entrance of a shaded alleyway. She motioned directions with her hands. "Down this way, take a right when you see the neon sign with the heart, you can't miss it."

It was barely a stroll to Valentine's place, the red neon buzzed behind us as I knocked on the door plastered with old flyers. No response. I knocked again, this time with more volume. Seconds passed. I looked to my four friends, Prompto and Noctis shrugging and Gladio checking his phone. "Well, mine's toast now too. Batteries dead." he mentioned to Ignis.

I mentally groaned. Perhaps they were closed? I contemplated checking back later when the door cracked open and a young brunette peeked her head out at us. "Sorry, Nick's not in. I'm just his secretary."

"Oh, when will he be back?" I asked.

She gave us a dismal look. "I...I don't know. He's been missing for some time now, and I can't keep a detective agency open without a detective."

That's not good. "What happened? Can we help?"

She opened the door all the way and beckoned us inside and we entered the office: A stuffy, small flat with no windows and reeking of cigarette smoke. The woman sorted through a box of paperwork as she replied. "Nick was working on a case. Skinny Malone's gang had kidnapped a young woman, and he tracked them down to their hideout in Park Street Station. There's an old vault they use down there as a base." She pulled a file from the box and skimmed over a handwritten report. "I told Nick he was walking into a trap, but he just smiled and walked out the door as he always does."

"Where did you say he went, Park Street Station?" I knew the area, it wasn't far from here.

The woman nodded. "If you're heading there, I'd suggest equipping yourselves with some firearms. Skinny's gang is anything but friendly."

I looked to my friends who all shared the same thoughtful look, though no one objected. "We'll check it out. After all, I'll need his help with a missing person when all is said and done."

"Funny, he's the best there is with solving missing persons cases," the woman laughed darkly. "Never expected he'd become one. Name's Ellie, by the way."

"I'm Heather. Nice to meet you, Ellie. We'll find Nick and bring him back as soon as possible."

* * *

"Prompto, show her how to load that thing will you?"

We were standing outside the vault door deep within the subway tunnels when Gladio caught me fumbling with my pistol. I must not have been fumbling with it correctly, as Prompto took the gun and showed me how to load the clip, commenting how I should always have spares available. "Won't always have time to reload while you're in a sticky situation," he noted as he jammed the full clip into the pistol and handed it back to me. "You uhh, ever shoot one of those things off?"

I frowned. "Only the kind that shoot water. That's the same idea, right?"

Prompto held back his face-palm. "You're lucky you're cute. Just hold it firmly, keep your arms straight and don't let the recoil out in your wrists or you'll hurt yourself." He patted me on the back. "You'll be fine, won't need to shoot much with us around!"

"Yeah but I don't want to be useless, either," I replied. "Plus I need survival skills now and you guys won't be around to do my killing for me forever, right?"

"True, true."

We headed into the vault, the entrance of metal walkways and expansive catwalk giving me a sick sensation of deja vu. The layout was similar but not exact to vault 111, having been retrofitted to the tunnels underground. It made sense to build a vault in the subway, given the location and obvious shield from the elements. The arms dealer we bought ammo from mentioned a lot of people had took to the tunnels after the bombs fell. I suppose that would explain the countless skeletons we passed and odd ghoul here and there…

As we made our way through the living quarters of the vault, several ghouls popped out brandishing automatic firearms, wearing suits and fedoras. They seemed more cognizant than previous ghouls we came across, but were definitely not here to make friends as they shot at us from behind a flipped-over pool table.

We ducked behind a counter, the bullets ripping through the old laminate top and sending a spray of wood splinters everywhere. "Dammit!" Noctis hissed. "We can't make it passed this! They're on us."

He was right. There was simply too many of them shooting at us. Prompto peeked around the corner and quickly snapped his head back before a barrage of bullets pocked the side of the counter. "Yep, we're doomed."

"Oh can it with the dramatics," Gladio exhaled beside me. I didn't share his confidence, but we had to act fast. The counter would only hold for so long…

In the alcove facing us, a broken shelf stacked with various boxes caught my eye. "Watch my six, will you?" I asked Gladio and before he could respond, I scuttled on my knees straight ahead and dipped into the doorway. A single shot hammered the frame behind me but otherwise I was good to go.

Safely out of the enemy's line of sight, I flicked on my Pip-Boy flashlight and rummaged through the boxes for...what exactly? A distraction, perhaps? This wasn't looking good. Old crumpled-up papers, an empty Nuka Cola bottle, a pack of Mentats...What was I expecting to find in here?

My hand closed around something bumpy, and round. I pulled it from the box of junk.

 _YES!_

I slid back on my knees around the doorway to rejoin the group, getting a quick view of the ghouls shooting at us (easily ten of them) before I pulled the pin from the grenade and whipped it over the side of the counter. I stuck my fingers in my ears and hoped like hell the bomb was still active.

It was. Seconds later a loud _BANG_ smacked my eardrums and the counter shifted from behind us, the explosion sending trash and bits of furniture in a dangerous spray on the other side. Multiple ghouls cried out death throes and the shooting immediately ceased.

Many seconds passed in silence, our eyes bouncing back and forth between one another as we echoed the same unspoken question. Noctis took the cake and gingerly craned his neck over the top of the counter.

"Oh, GROSS!" he protested loudly in response as he stood. "We're good, just watch your step."

I got up to survey the aftermath and swiftly wish I hadn't. There wasn't a living ghoul in sight, bits and pieces of them strewn across the room like a masochistic decorator's dream house. The pool table unfortunately took the brunt of the damage, the green felt top shredded and caved-in. I contemplated grabbing one of the ghoul's automatic weapons, but even with my untrained eye I could tell each of them were visibly damaged from the blast. Bummer. I stepped lightly and made sure I wasn't getting ghoul on my boots.

A faint _clink, clink, clink_ could be heard nearby, almost from behind a wall, no. A window…?

Ignis caught sight of the source before I could. "Up there!"

In a room one level above, the silhouette of a man stood clapping, a pair of glowing yellow eyes on us. "Quite the show, I didn't expect some free entertainment." he shouted from behind the glass.

As I focused on him I noticed while man-shaped, he definitely was not human. "Who are you?" I shouted back at him, instantly cautious as I could have alerted more enemies without knowing.

"Nick Valentine," He replied. "Now get me the hell outta here." 

* * *

_**Forgot to add my note when I first posted this chapter. Whoops! There's a reason I decided to make these mobsters at the start of the mission ghouls instead of humans. I can't explain without spoiling part of a later chapter, but rest assured there's a method to my madness!**_


	14. Discount Mafia

We located the stairs to the uppermost level easily enough and headed up, keeping our eyes peeled for any stray gangster-ghouls that may have tucked away to jump us. Thankfully our ascent was uninterrupted and we made it to the top floor, where the detective was being held captive. As we approached, I got a better look at the man behind the circular window. If I could even call him that. A robot, perhaps?

"Woah…" Prompto voiced my internal surprise, his eyes widening for a moment when he caught sight of Nick.

No, he had to be a synth, either a damaged one or prototype of some sort, as he was missing skin along his neck and side of his face, the inner workings and components exposed. His right hand nothing but a metal skeleton. He lit a cigarette, yellow eyes flicking back and forth between our group. His voice was...From a different era, a slicker from the old black and white age of film or something. "I don't know who you are, but we got about three minutes before the _real_ shit for brains show up to the party. Get this door open."

"Did they have a key?" I hoped this wouldn't involve politely asking some baddy if we could borrow it.

Valentine gestured to the door. "That monitor on the wall over there will let you in. Gotta hack it though, hope one of you kids are good with computers."

 _How the hell_ …The screen was black, save for a single green blinking cursor. I turned back to Valentine. "Hey, how do-"

"Oh this will be easy-peasy!" Prompto hummed next to me. "Step aside, milady. Let the expert show you how it's done."

I let him access the computer and his fingers all but attacked the keys, the screen a jumble of random letters and words. I gave Noctis a puzzled look but he grinned back at me. "Don't worry, he's a total tech geek. Knows what he's doing."

"If anyone here's the geek dude, it's you," Prompto cracked as he hacked away at the terminal, blowing his bangs out of his face. A few seconds later, followed by an electronic _beep beep beep_ , the door slid open and Valentine joined us. "Ah, my knights and er, lady in shining armor." He flicked the ash from his cigarette. "But the question is, why do they come all this way, risking life and limb, for an old private eye?"

A couple silent seconds passed as four, then five heads turned in my direction. I hesitated, preparing my lips for the stinging words that would follow. "My son Shaun is missing. He was kidnapped, but I don't know who took him, or where they went."

Valentine paced around our group. "A missing kid, huh? Well, you came to the right man, if not the right place. I've been cooped up in here for weeks. Turns out the runaway daughter I came here to find wasn't kidnapped. She's Skinny Malone's new flame, and she's got a _mean streak._

"Anyway, you got troubles, and I'm glad to help." Valentine flicked his butt over the railing. "But now ain't the time. Let's blow this joint, then we'll talk."

Without a moment to spare we let the synth take the lead back downstairs and across the main room where the explosion went off. The tang of innards and residual grenade aroma coated the back of my throat as I fought the urge to gag. "Damn, that's disgusting," Gladio muttered, pulling the collar of his shirt up and over his nose and mouth.

"Rather unsavory," Ignis had done the same with his t-shirt.

Valentine scoffed. "Malone's thugs must have caught wind of your arrival. Those jerky-faces were hustled in here just a few hours ago. Barely had time to get acquainted before you came along and blew them up." He chuckled dryly. "No idea how they got them into those gangster getups, though, unless they found the poor bastards like that already. Best dressed ghouls I've ever seen."

We backpedalled our way through the vault's corridors and made for the exit. I was surprised how well Valentine could remember the route; We were making double-time compared to when we first came through. He must have memorized it or something. He gave us some backstory about this Skinny guy as we snaked through the mess of toppled furniture and litter. "Malone's crew here used to be small-time, muscled out of the old neighborhood by bigger players. Until they found this place. Don't know what happened to the previous owners but they're not exactly around to charge rent. An empty vault. Perfect hideout."

"A _secure_ hideout," Ignis added. "Nothing could permeate the entrance without extreme force."

"Exactly."

We happened upon a closed door. Valentine tried the control switch, but the electronic hatch refused to slide open. "Locked," he announced to us.

"That's impossible," Noctis's thoughts were in-tune with mine, it seemed. "We came through here and didn't lock anything behind us. Someone else did this."

Valentine stroked what remained of his chin with spindly metal skeleton fingers. "Malone's boys no doubt. I'll have a crack at it, step aside will you?"

With a couple quick rotations of the synth's wrists the hatch was unlocked and the door lifted to grant access. "Hell of a lot easier to do when the lock isn't on the other side," he scoffed sarcastically.

We reached the last door before the vault exit, surprised to find this one locked as well. Our master locksmith got to work on the door but stopped halfway through, listening. "Almost got it, but I hear big, fat footsteps on the other side," he warned. "Be ready for anything."

"Roger that," Gladio stood back and his great sword appeared from particles. He casually hung it over his shoulder as the other gents followed suit and summoned their weapons as well. Valentine was none the wiser as the final mechanism beeped loudly and the door unlocked. He gave us an uncertain look, of which I was surprised to be able to read from his glowing yellow eyes. I nodded, and he slid the door up and open.

Sure enough, we had company. Three men - no, three men and a woman - blocked our path to the exit catwalk, dressed in dirty suits and looking like discount mafia meatheads. The woman donned a sequined dress, of which did not properly fit either her nor the time and place. It was apparent they weren't looking to make friends; each of the men cradled an automatic rifle, the woman brandishing a Louisville slugger. I gulped.

It was easy to tell who the fat cat was, and Skinny Malone's voice echoed with an annoying twang off the metal walls of the vault entrance. "Nicky! What're you doin'? You come into my house, shoot up my pets, blowin' up the joint?! What's the big idea?"

To my surprise, Prompto was feeling brave enough for us and spoke first. "You keep _ghouls_ as _pets?_ That's disgusting!"

Malone stopped pacing. "Not pets, more like eh, collateral. Better them gettin' blown to bits than my men. Speakin' a'which! _Very unappreciated_ what you did to my lounge back there!"

"We wouldn't have had to at all if there weren't a bunch of zombies attacking us," Noctis offered, unfazed. Damn, these kids were ballsy today.

The boss was not having it. "The hell're you riff-raffs doin' here anyway? Get lost on the way to band practice?"

"They came to break me out of your hideout," Valentine replied, drawing a cigarette from the inner pocket of his trench coat and lighting it. I had to wonder how a synth managed to smoke without lungs. "And I wouldn't be here if it weren't for your two-timing dame, Skinny. You ought to tell her to write home more often."

The woman swayed cooly to the side and stroked the bat she was holding. "Awww...Poor little Valentine. Ashamed you got beat up by a girl?" Her tone was chiding, mocking him. "I'll just run back home to daddy, won't I?"

"Shoulda left her alone, Nicky," Malone added. "This ain't the old neighborhood. In this vault, I'm the king'a the castle, ya hear? An' I ain't letting some private dick shut us down now that I finally got a good thing goin'!"

Tensions were rising on both sides. I felt uneasy, like if I didn't step in soon I would regret it. The woman interrupted my thoughts, her whiny shrill voice an unwelcome sound. "I told you we should've just killed him! But then you had to get all... _sentimental_ , all that crap about the 'old times'-"

"Darla, I'm handlin' this!" The mobster boss cut her off though his pride was noticeably bruised. "Skinny Malone's always got things under control."

"Oh yeah?" Darla retorted, nodding in our direction. "Then what're these guys doing here, huh? Valentine must have brought them all here to rub us all out!"

The room was silent. Guess the boys only had a few ounces of courage left earlier cause now they were fresh out it seemed. Was this seriously going to fall on my shoulders? If someone didn't speak, and soon, they were rife to start firing at us. After all, we were technically trespassing. I had to think fast.  
This Darla chick looked like she was putting on a hell of a face for this situation. Maybe, if I played my cards right, I could convince her this wasn't a good gig. Reason with her, perhaps...I exhaled. "Darla, listen to me. You have a home to go back to. You don't want to throw your life away with these thugs."

"I...I…" Her lip quivered, and her hold on the bat slacked. "You're right! What am I doing? I've gotten all mixed up!"

I couldn't believe our luck. Darla dropped the bat and turned to leave, just like that. Malone looked traumatized as he turned to stop her. "Darla! W-where are you goin'?"

She stopped and turned back to face Malone. "Home, Skinny, where I shoulda been all this time." Her eyes narrowed to slits. "This is goodbye, for us." And with that she was gone, hightailing it out of the vault.

Now I was panicking. If they had didn't have a better reason to shoot us up than trespassing, now they did. Malone's neck was splotchy red, a vein popping out from his tight shirt collar. "Ah come on, Nicky. You cost me my ghouls, now you and your friends cost me my girl?!"

"My friends here just did you a favor, Skinny," Valentine reasoned with Malone in a low tone. "You always did have bad taste in women. Now that she's not around to feed that temper of yours, maybe you'll see sense and let us walk. You still owe me for two weeks in the hole."

Malone's eyebrows dipped, voice almost a growl. "Smug, overconfident ass! Get out of here!" He stepped aside, positively fuming. "Alright, you get to the count of ten. I still see your faces after that, I'm gunning all of you down!"

Jackpot. Without a moment of hesitation we bolted passed the gangsters and headed towards the exit, crossing the metal catwalk and down through the vault door, Malone's voice counting behind us and giving me goosebumps. We reached part of the old subway tracks, unable to hear Malone's voice any longer; we were safe. But where was the detective. "Over here!" Valentine called, and we followed his voice. He was halfway up a ladder and reaching for the hatch. "Found a shortcut," he said. "Let's get out of this dump."

* * *

"Nick! About time you showed up."

Piper was first to greet Valentine when we made our way back to Diamond City. A few patrons nodded to him and patted his worn trench coat. "Can't say I missed this place, but then again can't say I didn't. How's the press running, Piper?"

She shrugged. "Oh you know, the usual. McDonough tried to throw me out again, but your new friends helped a girl out and I'm here to stay," Piper winked at me. "That is, until someone gawks about the paper again."

"Well aren't you kids a bunch of everyday superheroes," Valentine chuckled. "Been meaning to tell you, thanks for saving my behind back there. I don't know how long I would have been cooped up in that room had you not come along." Valentine pulled a stack of caps from his pocket and gave them to Noctis. "Here, for your troubles. Dinner's on me tonight."

Noctis counted through them. I could tell it was more than enough to cover dinner for at least a week. Damn, I should have gotten in the detective business. "Thanks, Nick. About my son…?"

Valentine's eyebrows raised. "Right, come with me to my office. I'll want to ask you a few questions, get you to go over the details, if you're okay with that. We'll use it to build a case file and start narrowing in on a possible suspect."

I nodded. "I can do that, whatever it takes." I looked to my four friends, who hung back idly. "You guys can go get something to eat if you want, I won't be long."

"Oh please," Prompto bounded over to me and hung a dead weight arm around my shoulder. "Haven't you realized yet, we're in this together! A team no matter what." From what I could tell of their expressions, the other boys were in agreeance.

Though it wasn't overly sentimental it tugged at my heartstrings a bit. I was glad to have a group of people I could count on in this wasteland. "Oh you guys," I tried not to be overly bashful.

Valentine motioned us to follow him back to his agency. "Guess now that vacation's over, I best be getting back to work. Let's get this missing persons case show on the road."


	15. Kellogg

"Let's get down to business."

We were back in Valentine's agency, must and smoke almost leaching from the cinder-block walls of the office. Ellie balanced a clipboard on her hip, clicking a pen as she waited for the interview to begin. Prompto leaned against a support beam while Gladio, Ignis and Noctis stood against the wall behind me. I adjusted myself in the ratty armchair, bouncing my knee to a nervous tempo, wanting this to be over before it even began.

Valentine sat at the metal desk across from me, the butt of his most recent cigarette hanging from pocked lips. "When you're trying to find someone who's gone missing, the devil's in the details." Yellow eyes darted from myself to over my head, no doubt at my entourage. "Tell me everything you can, no matter how...painful, it might be."

The room felt three times smaller all of a sudden. My airways pinched, the words stumbled out as if someone were assembling them with shaky hands. I couldn't look at the synth when I spoke. "We were in a vault when it happened. Vault 111. It was some kind of cryo facility."

Ellie scribbled away on the clipboard, taking notes of my response.

"You were on ice, huh?" Valentine flicked an ash on the floor. "More importantly, you were underground. Sealed up. That's a lot of obstacles to get through just to take one person. What else can you tell me?"

"My husband was…" The words stopped, air stuck in my lungs. The memory of it played in slow snippets through my head, punctuated by the gunshot that took Nate's life. I recoiled, jolting in my seat. I didn't know how to go on. Searching around the room for something, anything, to get me out of my own personal hell, I looked up at Prompto who offered an empathetic smile;

It was enough. I looked back to Valentine. "My husband was murdered. He was trying to keep them from taking Shaun and they...they just…"

"It's okay, you don't need to say anything more," Ellie reassured.

"So, we're talking about a group of cold-hearted killers, but they waited until something went wrong to resort to violence." Valentine extinguished his cigarette butt. "What else do you remember?"

I supposed the key factor was what my son looked like. "We're looking for my baby, Shaun. He's less than a year old…Why would anyone take him?"

"An infant is a major responsibility," Ignis remarked from behind my seat. "Someone would have required preparation for such an undertaking. And, in this...environment, extreme precautions."

"He makes a good point," Valentine nodded, "Why your family in particular, and why an infant? Like your friend said, a baby takes a lot of care...That confirms it. This isn't a random kidnapping. Whoever took your kid had an agenda."

So it wasn't random, they hadn't trekked into the vault to take just anyone... the facts lined up. It hurt more this way, knowing the people who kidnapped Shaun had planned this, knew we were there, deliberately took him and just him…

My eyes stung, both from the smoke hanging in the air and the pinch of tears at the corners. I held them back, but just barely. Gladio paced from the back wall to the side of the desk. "Are there people around here that do this often? Kidnap people, or babies?"

Valentine thought on it. "Hmm...There's a lot of groups in the Commonwealth that take people. Raiders, super mutants, the Gunners, and of course, there's the Institute."

Oh, oh no. There was that name again. _The Institute._ "You think the Institute is responsible?" A gross feeling gathered in my gut. The Brotherhood didn't speak well of them, and the tone in Valentine's voice was not doing anything to disprove their claims.

Neither did his words. "Well, they're the boogeyman of the Commonwealth. Something goes wrong, everyone blames them. Easy to see why. Those early model synths of theirs strip whole town for parts, killing everything in their way. Then you've got the newer models that are good as human, that infiltrate cities and pull strings from the shadows."

"Why would they want a baby?" Noctis's voice held a tone of disgust. I couldn't blame him. The ill feeling in my stomach was churning.

"That's the thing," Valentine replied, "No one knows why they do it, what their plan is or where they are. Not even me and I'm a synth myself. A discarded prototype, anyway."

Interesting. "You're a prototype?"

"As far as I know, never seen any other synth like myself. There's the older ones that are dumb as rocks and all metal, and then there's the newer ones that are almost human. I'm somewhere in-between."

The interview was going off-topic. "Either way, I need to find Shaun."

"Right, let's focus on what you saw. What did the kidnappers look like?"

I'd already recalled the scene of Nate's murder and Shaun's kidnapping too many times this evening, each time ripping through my core, leaving raw edges and disconnected memories. Determined to just get this over with, I closed my eyes and focused. The details came soon after. "The woman was wearing a hazmat suit. The man had...Some sort of metal brace along his arm."

"Maybe some kind of improvised armor?" The detective speculated, glancing up at Ellie and shrugging. "Lot of hired guns do that to look tough. However, the hazard suit is interesting. Not many mercs can afford something that fancy. Anything else?"

 _Goddammit! Get the kid out of here, we have to leave_

His words made me wince, salt in a wound that hadn't closed up yet. "I'll never forget that voice. Low, and rough. Like sandpaper across your face."

"Not much to go on, but a commanding voice can get someone pretty far in the violence business...What else?"

In my mind I could see his face, inches away from the pod door window, no trace of remorse on his features despite having killed my husband in cold blood seconds prior. I wanted nothing more than to forget that face so it wouldn't exist in my brain; even giving him that minute spec of existence in my being was too much.

 _At least we have the backup…_

Power through it, Heather. Power through it. "One of them came right up to me. Bald head, scar across his left eye," I turned around and pointed to Gladio, "like his." Unsurprisingly the man looked quite offended. I tried to mouth the word 'sorry' and his face softened a fraction, though the damage was done.

When I turned back to Valentine, his expression was concerned. "Wait. It couldn't be…" The entire tone of his voice had altered, cautionary. "You didn't hear the name 'Kellogg' at all, did you?"

Kellogg? The name didn't seem familiar, and that wasn't a common one. "I...might have? It's kinda foggy…"

"Hmm…it's way too big of a coincidence..." He turned to look over his shoulder at his assistant. "Ellie, what notes do we have about Kellogg's case?"

The woman was moving before Valentine had finished his question, pulling out a filing box and retrieving a folder. It was fat, a stack of papers crammed inside. Seems like this guy had a rap sheet, and Shaun wasn't the first kidnapping of his. Ellie scanned the profile page before laying the folder out in front of the private eye. "The description matches. Bald head. Scar. Reputation for dangerous mercenary work, but no one knows who his employer is."

"And he bought a house here in town, right?" Valentine flipped through to a bill of sale, skimming through it and flipping back to the written profile page. "And he had a kid with him, didn't he?"

My head snapped up as Ellie replied to Valentine. "Yeah, that's right. The house in the abandoned West Stands. The boy with him was around ten years old."

 _Ten years old…_ "You said he lives here, he's still in town?"

Valentine shook his head, the inner workings of wires and circuits in his neck visible through the broken-off skin. "They both vanished a while back if I'm remembering right, but that house is still there…" He seemed to consider something before rising out of his office chair. "Let's take a walk over to Kellogg's last known address. See if we can snoop out where he went."

One by one our group filed out of the agency, Ellie staying behind to refine her notes. Valentine led the way keeping a quick pace but not running so as to not to draw attention to us. Ignis fell into step beside me. "I thought your son was an infant?"

"He was," I replied as we passed a man on the street begging for Nuka Cola. "But after they kidnapped him I was put back to sleep for some time. It felt like only minutes, but it would make sense that time passed after that, before I was let out..." My mind was going a mile a minute. What had I missed in that span of time? I hoped Shaun was safe, though couldn't stop fearing he wasn't.

Valentine looked over his shoulder towards me and motioned his head for me to catch up. Ignis and I matched speed with the detective, who spoke in hushed whispers. "I think you should know. Everything I dug up about Kellogg before his disappearance is bad news. He's more than just a mercenary, he's a professional. Quick, clean, thorough. Has no enemies because they're all dead...Except you. You're lucky you have such"-he looked Gladio up and down-" _capable_ companions."

Part of me was glad I couldn't see his expression, as he grunted in response.

We reached a set of metal steps and filed up them, one after the other. Prompto tried to look on the bright side. "But if we're lucky he's not our guy, right? I-I mean there's gotta be like, twenty some-odd mercs out there that are bald and...have a scar over their eye…" he trailed off. "Dammit. Thought I had something there."

"Actually, nine to one odds he's our man," Valentine moved along the far edge of the metal walkway, keeping in the shadows though the sun was already down. "It's more than just you identifying his distinguishing features. The MO is all him as well. Leading a small team to kidnap a baby, and leaving one of the parents alive for later? Not many mercs in the Commonwealth can pull that off."

We reached the door to the abandoned house and the detective eyed the lock. "Keep an eye out, will ya? Let's see if I can get this open."

He tried the lock while the five of us stayed vigilant. A security guard below looked up just in time for us to scoot away from the edge of the platform, relieved to see him go back to his patrol after a moment's hesitation. Behind us, Valentine sighed in defeat. "No use, it's too advanced for my components. What the hell do you have to hide, Kellogg…"

He stepped back. "Well unless any of you folks are skilled with a lock pick, we'll need to find the key."

Before I could protest where we'd get our hands on the key to a merc's abandoned house, Valentine pointed across the city towards a row of box seats up in the stands. "You see that platform in the distance, near the city entrance? That there is the mayor's office. I'd recommend you go ask someone around there, but they're closed at sundown, so you'll have to try tomorrow."

"Or we could break in there," Prompto suggested.

"Are you out of your mind?" Valentine shook his head. "There's an elevator you need to take to access his office, and it's out in plain sight. You'd be shot down before you reached the top."

I gulped. So breaking and entering was not on the schedule this evening. We'd have to wait for morning. I was somewhat relieved; overwhelmed and stressed to the brim, I was in need of a (unfortunately, cold) shower and a good night's sleep. There was a sneaking suspicion that I would have neither for a while after tonight.

Nate's murderer and Shaun's kidnapper now had a name to the face: Kellogg. My mind threw daggers at his memory, the resentment for him boiling my blood and giving me motivation to kill.

Valentine led us back down the steps and away from the area, passing the agency just a bit. "If you lot can get the key tomorrow, drop by and let me know. We'll pick up where we left off, and maybe get a good lead on where Kellogg has gone."

"Thanks, Nick," I offered, as he ducked back into the alcove entrance to his office.

Prompto stretched and bent back to crack his spine. "Welp, I'm starving. Power Noodles anyone?"

Gladio huffed and Noctis gave a "Heck yes, I could eat a horse." Ignis was...watching me, again.

"I'm actually going to turn in for the night," I declined. "Need as much sleep as I can get, you know?"

"Sure thing," Noctis gave a little wave as him, Gladio and Prompto made their way for the Power Noodles stand. He glanced over his shoulder. "Hey, Iggy, you coming?"

"Be there in a moment." He turned back to me as they left, his expression and tone softer. "Are you alright? That must have been very difficult."

"I'm…" My mind couldn't piece the right words together. "I've been better, yeah. Just, having to scrutinize the scene of my...my husbands-"

Ignis held a hand up to stop me. "Understood. My apologies. We'll make progress in the morning, I'm sure of it."

All I could offer the tall brunette was a half smile, the tightness in my chest almost crushing my rib-cage. "I hope so. Goodnight, Ignis."

"Goodnight, Heather."

I walked away, bunching the sleeves of my sweater in my palms both to keep my hands warm, and to hold myself together. I'd most likely cry myself to sleep tonight. Fantastic. The nightmares would make an appearance, they always did, and after the play-by-play of events they were fresh in my mind, primed and prepped and ready to go. I bit my lip, the pain distracting me from my own thoughts. I felt oddly compelled to glance over my shoulder, back where I left Ignis.

He was there, still, watching me, though his expression was unreadable from this distance. And then I reached the alleyway to the Dugout and rounded the corner.

For some reason that I couldn't comprehend, in those brief seconds that I looked back to him, I felt safe. Reassurance, that I hadn't felt even when he was trying to make me feel better. And above all, I felt something I hadn't truly felt since I emerged from Vault 111.

Hope.

* * *

"I hope her son's okay."

Prompto's voice lacked the pep of his usual conversation canter. The four of them slurped their dinner at the Power Noodles stand, happy to have the booth all to themselves so they could spread out a bit more. He frowned. "What are the chances we'll find this Kellogg guy, do you think?"

"My guess, he's already dead," Gladio mumbled, tapping his chopsticks on the rim of the bowl. "Dunno about the kid, though. Hope we can find him alive and well. That would ruin her, if not."

"Yeah."

Noctis hadn't looked up since they sat down and Prompto finally called him on it. "Noct, what's up man? You seem out of it. What's on your mind?"

"It's...not that great," He replied, swirling a stick in his bowl of noodles, looping them tightly around one before bringing it to his mouth. "You guys think...we'll ever, you know, make it back to where we came from?"

There was a short silence between the group before Prompto responded. "Of course, I know we'll make it back! We gotta, there's so much stuff to catch up on."

"Yeah, don't worry," Gladio added. "Where there's a will there's a way, right?"

Ignis didn't speak, staring off straight ahead in the distance. Noctis nudged his advisor's shoulder. "Hey, Specs. Your thoughts?"

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on either side of the bowl, hands crossed into a bundle at his chin. "I...am not confident in our return to Eos."

"Wha?" Prompto's voice jumped an octave higher than usual. "Why's that?"

Ignis craned his neck towards the blond at the end of the booth. "I'm just, prepared for the worst case scenario. Needless to say, we're in a post nuclear-war civilization; any technology that would have assisted us in returning to our planet has likely either been outdated or destroyed when the bombs fell."

The group fell into uncomfortable silence for several seconds. Noctis sighed. "Gotta be the voice of reason, eh?" He downed the rest of his supper. "I just...I think a lot about what's happening while we're gone. Are they looking for us yet? Would they even know we're gone?"

"We disappeared without a trace," Ignis's voice was grave. "The chances of them finding any clues to our whereabouts are slim to none. My guess is, when you are a no-show to the wedding, then they'll start to raise concern."

"Damn."

"As I said," Ignis pushed his bowl forward, unable to eat another bite. "It's possible this, may be our new home. Might as well accept it should it be inevitable."

Gladio seemed annoyed by Ignis's choice of words. "You can't just give up on it like that, Iggy. You do that and we might as well be stuck here."

"Giving up is not an option," He responded, rougher than usual. "I never said I would. I'm just thinking realistically."

"He's right," Prompto seemed deflated. "Might as well learn to cope with radiation poisoning and being chased by deathclaws for the rest of our short lives."

Ignis exhaled, fingers pressed to his temples. "There's one thing that remains key in this. We have access to our weapons." He worked a kink out of his neck. "I'm not certain how it's possible, but it is, and that is the only connection to our planet for the time being."

"Good point," Noctis shuffled from his seat, stood and stretched. "Let's hit the hay. We got asses to kick tomorrow."

As the group made way for the Inn, Ignis was fixated on the moment Heather left him, where she looked over her shoulder. The worry in her face was prominent, her small features pained, tormented. It brought several feelings to the forefront in his mind, though one more remarkable than the rest, one he hadn't felt since confronting the paladin back at the police station.

Fear.


End file.
